There was a romance to the return of AFL Origin in the pre-season, and players from both states clambered to express their interest in representing their state, soon after the concept's revival was confirmed.
The Big V has a storied history, and given the pool of players that Chairman of Selectors Garry Lyon and head coach Chris Scott had at their disposal, the Vics' eventual victory was hardly a surprise.
The side that carried the torch of revival was picked on reputation, given the game was played in February and no recent games could have been used to inform selection debates.
That's now changed. After seven rounds of AFL action, we're re-selecting the side. The exceptional form of some players entrench them firmly in discussions, while injury and poor form necessitate the omissions of some incumbents.
Check out our re-selected side below!
Forwards
HF: Josh Treacy, Jack Gunston, Justin McInerney
FF: Nick Watson, Ben King, Jeremy Cameron
The heartbreaking, season-ending knee injury suffered by Western Bulldog Sam Darcy opens the door for bullocking Docker Josh Treacy to enter the fray. 16 goals from seven outings, as well as involvement up the field, make him a logical replacement.
"The Wizard" Nick Watson has emerged as one of the stories of the year, and is currently rated as the competition's best forward, per Champion Data. He replaces Giants captain Toby Greene, on current form, after Greene suffered a sluggish start to the year, before an influential outing against North Melbourne.
One of the team's eldest statesmen in Patrick Dangerfield makes way for Swan Justin McInerney, who has been stellar in filling the void left by Errol Gulden's injury, at club level.
Jeremy Cameron was a late scratching from February's game, and was in danger of losing his spot in this re-selected side too, before kicking 16.4 in three weeks - a timely reminder of his class around the sticks.
Ben King's metronomic consistency sees him retain his spot, too.
