North Melbourne champion Brent Harvey joined Lyon at Freo headquarters on Wednesday for the announcement ahead of the IRS Test at Patersons Stadium on Saturday 22 November.
Coaching panel members including senior coach Alastair Clarkson and assistants Chris Scott and Lyon selected the team last week. Gaelic football great and Sydney Swans premiership player Tadgh Kennelly and AFL football operations manager Mark Evans were also involved in selection.
The team (in alphabetical order): Grant Birchall, Travis Boak, Luke Bruest, Patrick Dangerfield, Dustin Fletcher, Nat Fyfe, Brendon Goddard, Robbie Gray, Brent Harvey, Luke Hodge, Kieren Jack, Steve Johnson, Jarrad McVeigh, Sam Mitchell, Leigh Montagna, Nic Naitanui, Nick Riewoldt, Tom Rockliff, Joel Selwood, Brodie Smith, Nick Smith, Harry Taylor, Jobe Watson, Chad Wingard
Lyon said the team was selected on the basis that all players were either All Australian in 2014 or a previous All Australian in their career.
The Freo coach said great running power and an ability to adapt quickly to the round ball were important criteria in picking the team, but above all else he said the squad was a collection of ‘competitive beasts’.
“Their ability to think their way through challenges thrown at them by the Irish, we’re really confident they’ll do that,” Lyon said.
“It’s a squad that has achieved a lot in AFL football. It’s the cream of our competition that’s performed at a high level for a long period of time.
“I don’t think you’ve seen anything like it before, and I’m not sure that you’ll see it again.”
Harvey spoke on behalf of the players and said it was an incredible honour to represent the AFL and Australia.
“For me to get asked to play for Australia is an opportunity that I couldn’t resist,” he said.
“You don’t see a lot of Nat Fyfe or Nic Naitanui in Melbourne, so just to get the chance to mix with those guys and find out a little bit more about their personalities and learn about their preparation was something that I couldn’t pass up.
“And also, to work with Alastair Clarkson, Chris Scott and Ross Lyon, speaking to my coach (Brad Scott) we thought it was a great opportunity to get away and learn something new from other coaches as well.”
Harvey predicted there would be 40,000 fans at Patersons Stadium to watch the game, and even though he hasn’t exactly been Mr Popular with the Perth supporters in the past, he hoped they could put hostilities aside for a day.
“Hopefully the Fremantle and Perth crowd even get behind me,” he said.
The Australian team has good experience at the hybrid version of the game with 10 players - Dangerfield, Fletcher, Gray, Harvey, Hodge, Jack, McVeigh, Montagna, Riewoldt and Goddard - having played IRS Tests before in their careers.
This squad is also littered with leaders, given seven current AFL club captains in Boak, Hodge, Jack, McVeigh, Riewoldt, Selwood, Watson and two former skippers in Harvey and Mitchell, will play.
Australia has a strong record in Perth with two wins from three tests at Patersons Stadium, including a 36-point win in 2005 and a 10-point win in 2003.
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