TALENTS on the football field are being challenged by skills in the shearing shed as the controversial development of the national Ultimate Wool Team is a step closer.
The Ultimate Wool Team is an idea developed by Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) and footy website, The Footy Almanac.
In recent weeks debate around the teams' selection process has been amplified following the announcement of the Victorian and Riverina teams.
Footy Almanac editor John Harms said selecting players for the wool team was based on loose criteria which weighed the footballer's physical ability as well as their contribution to the wool industry.
"The whole idea is to keep the debate going because ultimately we want the best 22 footballers, plus a few extras in the squad, who have come out of the wool industry to be on each team," Mr Harms said.
"We are trying to measure their capacity as a footballer and their prominence in the wool industry – I think ultimately people want to see the best football team so we might put a few interesting industry characters on the bench, committee or as a runner.
"As we all know it's pretty hard to compare players of different eras, and then you've got to work out whether someone's role in the wool industry gives them more value as a footballer, or whether it's just on straight footballing ability."
Provisional teams have been announced for Victoria, Riverina and South Australia, with the draft Western Australia squad to be announced soon.
In the nomination process, football legends who grew up on sheep farms such as Roger Merrett, who played for Essendon and Brisbane Bears from 1978-95, Des Tuddenham, who played 242 games for Collingwood and Essendon from 1962-77, have been nominated. Merrett's nomination was for his versatility on-field while Tuddenham was nominated for his ability to shear 80 sheep a day before his footy career began.
In the NSW Riverina team football greats like Neale Daniher (Essendon 1979-90), Paul Kelly (Sydney 1990-2002) and John Longmire (North Melbourne, 1988-99) are also likely selections.
Current players who have nabbed a spot on the Riverina team are Hawthorn's Luke Breust and Geelong's Tom Hawkins, who was nominated alongside his father Jumpin' Jack Hawkins.
Geelong players are also well-represented in the Victorian team, which Mr Harms attributed to the club's historical connection to wool processing and proximity for players who grew up on farms near the former wool capital, Hamilton.
While the selection process had ignited the friendly state rivalry and club alliances with nominations reaching the hundreds, Mr Harms said the idea behind the Ultimate Football Team had been successful in highlighting Australian Rules Football's strong ties to the bush.
He said conversation has moved from team nominations to how to beat your opponents and what regions grow the best wool.
"It is to celebrate footy in the bush – footy is a fantastic part of Australian life in the country and has become the fabric of rural communities," he said.
"It brings together footy and the farming communities which have always been natural bedfellows."