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Saints young gun Jade Gresham has told new teammate Brad Hill to ‘watch out’ in State of Origin

Young gun Jade Gresham will be up against a familiar face in Friday’s State of Origin clash. And the youngest member of the Victorian side has signalled his intentions. Plus, another late change for the Big V.

Richmond stars Bachar Houli and Shane Edwards have been picked for the Bushfire Relief game.
Richmond stars Bachar Houli and Shane Edwards have been picked for the Bushfire Relief game.

Victorian midfielder Jade Gresham has warned new St Kilda teammate Brad Hill to “watch out” on Friday night, vowing that the State of Origin for Bushfire Relief match will be no AFLX.

The youngest member of the Victorian side, Gresham will face off against his new Saints teammate Hill, who is set to line up as part of the All Stars team at Marvel Stadium.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE STATE OF ORIGIN NUMBERS

“That will be a bit different,” Gresham, 22, told the Herald Sun.

“I said to him, ‘You better watch out, mate’ because we’ll be at each other I reckon. But it should be good.

“The club came to me and said, ‘Are you interested (in playing)?’. I said, ‘Bloody oath’. I was really excited when I got the call up and I can’t wait to get out there.”

Jade Gresham will be Victoria’s youngest player in the AFL State of Origin for Bushfire Relief game. Picture: AAP Image/Michael Dodge
Jade Gresham will be Victoria’s youngest player in the AFL State of Origin for Bushfire Relief game. Picture: AAP Image/Michael Dodge

Interstate players will arrive in Melbourne tomorrow ahead of training sessions for both Victoria and the All Stars tomorrow afternoon where captains for the two sides will be picked.

A bumper crowd is expected for the match, with only a small number of $10 standing room tickets still available last night.

Gresham played for Team Deadly in the AFLX tournament last year but said he expected a much more high-intensity and physical hitout in Friday’s State of Origin match.

“It’s pretty special anytime you get to pull on the Big V,” Gresham said.

“Once the ball is bounced I reckon everyone will have a red-hot crack and hopefully we can get a win, the Vics.”

Jumper numbers for the game were revealed yesterday, with 2017 Brownlow Medal winner Dustin Martin beating out Western Bulldogs’ Marcus Bontempelli, Greater Western Sydney’s Toby Greene, North Melbourne’s Shaun Higgins and Gresham to be handed the No. 4 for Victoria.

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Carlton’s Patrick Cripps beat Brisbane’s Lachie Neale for the No. 9 jumper for the All Stars.

After North Melbourne’s Ben Cunnington pulled out of the Victorian side on Monday due to groin issues, Port Adelaide’s Robbie Gray yesterday withdrew from the All Stars side due to foot soreness.

Cunnington was replaced in the Victorian side by West Coast’s onballer Andrew Gaff. Richmond’s six representatives in the Bushfire Relief match will wear the same jumper numbers they do for the Tigers.

But a host of AFL stars will pull on new numbers for the one-off State of Origin clash on Friday night.

Trent Cotchin (9), Bachar Houli (14) and Tom Lynch (19) will play alongside Martin in the Big V while Jack Riewoldt (8) and Shane Edwards (10) are in the All-Stars side. Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury has also kept his famous No.10 for the Vics.

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Essendon’s Adam Saad will wear No.42 for Victoria. Picture: Nicole Cleary
Essendon’s Adam Saad will wear No.42 for Victoria. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Victoria and the All-Stars have named 27-man squads for the game.

In other news yesterday, Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson pulled out of his role as an assistant to Victoria coach Damien Hardwick to lead the Hawks in a practice match against St Kilda.

The State of Origin match will raise money to boost a Community Relief Fund set up by the AFL to help rebuild football facilities ripped apart by the devastating bushfires.

The match will be played on Friday at 7.50pm, following an AFLW curtain raiser between Collingwood and Melbourne at 5.40pm.

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VICTORIA

1. Jade Gresham

2. Shaun Higgins

3. Andrew Gaff

4. Dustin Martin

5. Toby Greene

6. Lachie Whitfield

7. Marcus Bontempelli

9. Trent Cotchin

10. Scott Pendlebury

11. Jack Macrae

12. Tom Papley

13. Stefan Martin

14. Bachar Houli

15. Ben Cunnington

18. Jeremy Cameron

19. Tom Lynch

20. Nick Haynes

21. James Sicily

22. Todd Goldstein

23. Josh Kelly

24. Steele Sidebottom

30. Darcy Moore

31. Rory Sloane

35. Patrick Dangerfield

42. Adam Saad

44. Jake Lloyd

46. Mark Blicavs

Travis Boak

ALL-STARS

1. Michael Walters

2. Zach Tuohy

3. Stephen Coniglio

4. Brodie Grundy

5. Brad Sheppard

6. Elliot Yeo

7. Nat Fyfe

8. Jack Riewoldt

9. Patrick Cripps

10. Shane Edwards

12. Callum Mills

13. Taylor Walker

14. Lachie Weller

15. Dayne Zorko

16. Isaac Smith

17. Lachie Neale

18. Scott Lycett

22. Luke Breust

23. Charlie Cameron

26. Tom Hawkins

29. Rory Laird

31. Harris Andrews

32. Bradley Hill

33. Brodie Smith

38. Jeremy Howe

39. Neville Jetta

40. Jason Johannisen

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/jumper-numbers-released-for-victoria-v-all-stars-bushfire-game/news-story/b2f423f802b9aa747e57fc0fdb6ff244