Melbourne champion Garry Lyon had the honour of putting the Victorian team together for the State of Origin revival, and has revealed Western Bulldogs key forward Sam Darcy was the player he was most excited to lock in.
The star studded side, featuring the likes of Marcus Bontempelli, Zak Butters, Patrick Dangerfield, Max Gawn and more, will take on Western Australia at Optus Stadium on Saturday night. It will be the first AFL Origin game since 1999.
Lyon, who has long pushed for the return of representative footy, was on the ground in Perth as both teams trained at West Coast’s facilities on Thursday morning.
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The Victorian squad flew in on Wednesday, had dinner together, and then hit the track for the first time on Thursday.
Speaking from Mineral Resources Park, Lyon spoke of his excitement to watch the rising Bulldogs star in action.
Garry Lyon, Victorian chief selector. Nine
“(Darcy) was nearly the one I was most excited to put on the board,” he told reporters.
“He’s ready to just explode. His form in the practice matches for the Bulldogs up against (West Australia’s) Rory Lobb … they might be having sleepless nights.
“He’s such a formidable presence and he’s aggressive. He’s awesome.
“If he’s in the goal square and Nick Daicos is next to him and Zak Butters is sniffing around, good luck.”
Lyon spoke glowingly of the entire setup, praising the AFL for going all-in on Origin, saying the squads “want for nothing”.
And he knows it will be a competitive game of footy. He doubts any of the Victorian players will want to face coaches Chris Scott and Sam Mitchell on the bench if they aren’t giving it their all.
“I’ve got absolutely no doubt,” Lyon said when asked if he was worried about the quality of the game.
“Our messaging to the players from the coach … you guys (the media) have all had to deal with Chris Scott in the past, and Sam Mitchell, so you go and tell them that it’s going to be half-arsed and see how you go.
“First thing Chris said to the group was if you think this is a Micky Mouse situation, you’re in the wrong place.
“I’ve loved watching he and Sammy and Shaun Grigg and Joel Selwood get together and the players are loving it. ‘Oh it’s so good to see what Chris Scott is like’.”
Chris Scott is the Victorian State of Origin coach. AFL Photos via Getty Images
But Lyon has also put the onus on the players to tick the final box and deliver, given the AFL has held up their end of the bargain and the West Australian public has sold out Optus Stadium.
“It’s a good start, a sell out and desperation for tickets,” he said when asked about whether State of Origin could become an annual tradition.
“It’s up to these boys now. It’s up to them to make this a huge success on Saturday.
“If you’ve played any sort of sport and you walk out and it’s a full house, it’s pretty exciting.”
Lyon represented Victoria on 10 occasions in his career, captaining the team in 1994.
One of the main concerns around Origin, and part of the reason it ran out of steam in the 1990s, was the risk of serious injuries that could derail seasons.
Lyon however says injuries are just as likely to occur at pre-season training, game simulations or scratch matches as they are to happen on Saturday night.
“Will Day is out for half the season because he’s injured himself at training. Injuries happen at training, practice matches, they may happen Saturday night, it’s accepted,” the former Melbourne captain said.
“I remember playing Saturday back in the day and then State of Origin was on Tuesday.
“Gary Ablett Snr, Tony Lockett, Greg Williams, these blokes all did that. All risked the injuries.
“There’s not one of our group that we wanted to play that said no. Not one.
“They know they’ve got to play footy. Patrick Cripps told me he’d be going flat out in a practice match anyway. He’d rather be here.”
Victorian captain Marcus Bontempelli. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos
Western Bulldogs star and Victorian captain Marcus Bontempelli missed the first six weeks of the 2025 season after suffering an injury in an AAMI Community Series game.
Lyon also revealed a few interesting names who have been around the Victorian camp overnight, including West Coast’s AFL and AFLW coaches Andrew McQualter and Daisy Pearce.
“Daisy Pearce was around. The team had a bite to eat last night and Chris invited Daisy because of her history at the Cats and (West Coast coach) Andrew McQualter came down as well,”
“He had a steak and then when he realised the AFL was paying he had a glass of wine.
“No, it’s great to have someone like him and Daisy around the group.”