Max Gawn and Sam Darcy were unveiled to the media at Whitten Oval on Thursday morning as two of nine new selections made by Victorian head coach Chris Scott and chairman of selectors Garry Lyon
Gawn will be thrust into the engine room of the Victorian midfield alongside Brownlow Medallist Matt Rowell, Rowell's Suns captain Noah Anderson, Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli and Geelong dual best and fairest winner Max Holmes.
It comes as Dean Cox's Western Australia side added GWS pair Jesse Hogan and Sam Taylor as well as exciting forwards Charlie Cameron and Kysaiah Pickett to his 14-man squad for the first competitive AFL State of Origin match since 1999.
“It’s exciting to have more than half of our squad locked in, and it’s coming together as a well-balanced team that we feel represents what Victorian football is all about,” Chris Scott said on Thursday.
“Sam (assistant coach Sam Mitchell) and I will sit down with Garry Lyon in the coming weeks to lock away what the final squad could look like, and with the depth of talent available, there are going to be some very tough calls to make, but it’s what makes the return of Origin football such an exciting prospect.”
Meanwhile, Western Australia coach Dean Cox said he is "really happy with how the squad is shaping up".
"They're all players who know how to stand up in big moments, and half of them are premiership players which will be invaluable experience on the Origin stage.
"I am also excited to see a few familiar faces team up again. Kozzy and Luke were great teammates at Melbourne, and Liam Baker and Shai Bolton forged something special together at Richmond. Seeing those combinations back together in the 'Black Swan' will be awesome."
Victoria 14-man Origin squad:
Noah Anderson (Gold Coast), Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs), Zak Butters (Port Adelaide), Jeremy Cameron (Geelong), Nic Daicos (Collingwood), Sam Darcy (Western Bulldogs), Max Gawn (Melbourne), Toby Greene (GWS Giants), Max Holmes (Geelong), Hugh McCluggage (Brisbane), Matt Rowell (Gold Coast), Jack Sinclair (St Kilda), Tom Stewart (Geelong), Jacob Weitering (Carlton)
Western Australia 14-man Origin squad:
Aaron Naughton (Western Bulldogs), Patrick Cripps (Carlton), Shai Bolton (Fremantle), Tom Barrass (Hawthorn), Chad Warner (Sydney), Liam Baker (Richmond), Charlie Cameron (Brisbane), Darcy Cameron (Collingwood), Jordan Clark (Fremantle), Brad Hill (St Kilda), Jesse Hogan (GWS Giants), Luke Jackson (Fremantle), Kysaiah Pickett (Melbourne), Sam Taylor (GWS Giants)