FORGET the old 'state v state, mate v mate' of men's Origin clashes – it'll be national pride on the line when Geelong duo Aishling Moloney and Georgie Prespakis go head-to-head in the NAB AFLW Australia v Ireland representative game.

And the banter has already started.

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"Super excited, can't wait to go up to Sydney with Aishling. I know we're teammates, but we're basically rivals at training, the way she throws me around," Prespakis said, throwing a quick glance at Moloney.

The tall forward is very serious on the field and normally plays the straightest of bats when it comes to interviews, but the mischievous side of Moloney shone through while sitting next to Prespakis.

"She called me Aishling, not 'Lingy'. She's gone official, she's getting nervous already," Moloney said with barely repressed glee.

"We were chatting about it before we came here, I think tensions are going to be pretty high. Even here today, you can feel the tension is in the air. We're all pretty excited about it.

"To be honest, the niggles have been going on a few years, I think, there's been a few comments been passed over and back between the Irish and the Aussies, within every team, really.

"I think for us, it's our time to shine and get one over them now. We were given the chance to play with a Gaelic football, but we said, 'you know what, we'll play with a Sherrin, and we'll beat them at their own game'. We're looking forward to trying to do that."

With a brief flicker of the eyebrows, it's clear Prespakis has heard it all before.

"She's quite the shit-talker, Aishling – half the time it goes in one ear and out the other."

Moloney: "I'm getting in your head already."

Prespakis: "We all want to get to round one, so if youse can just be nice."

Moloney: "In fairness, in this position, I'd rather to be an Irish, considering how we play the game."

Prespakis: "I was going to say, she almost put me on my arse yesterday. I love what the Irish bring, they're really hard workers, so come training, they absolutely go for it. It's good, it's what you want at times."

The Australian team is yet to be announced, but Geelong already has strong representation in the game, with Rachel Kearns joining Moloney in Ireland's team.

The Cats in general – both men's and women's – have been enthusiastic adopters of Irish talent, with seven players on their books across the two teams.

"I know we speak on the athletes they are, and they come over and what they bring, but just the people they are," Prespakis said.

"We've obviously got four at Geelong (W) now – Rachel, Emma (Murray), Kate (Kenny) and Aishling, and they're just great people you want around your club. They drive the standards, and they're just great, happy people, and they're absolutely workhorses."

Coming into her fourth season with 48 goals from 36 games already to her name, Moloney is now well and truly ensconced in the Cats.

"It actually makes me really proud to be from Geelong. We've seen what Mark O'Connor got to do back home, in December-January, playing with his local club team (Dingle, winning a title). For Aussies out here, they probably don't understand how big that is for us at home," she said.

"To see how [the club] support us in what they do – Emma Murray actually returned a few days and played a final with Waterford. So it's pretty cool. The history there with the Irish and Geelong is humungous.

"Obviously we play for our county back home, but we don't get the opportunity to represent our country. If we're to look outside AFL/AFLW – the amount of Aussie and Irish connections we have out here, through centuries – I'm so proud to be able to wear this guernsey and represent my club back home, Geelong and my family."

When it comes to how to shut down their teammate-turned-rival, the Cats pair were holding their cards close to their chest.

"That's going to be a tricky one. We've got an Irish now down in Sydney, who loves a good tagging role, good old Tanya Kennedy. Bit of an Oisin Mullin there. But obviously with Georgie – you're (also) going to have a few others who will need to be tagged. We can't let too much out of the bag here, we're going to have to play it cool," Moloney said.

"I think (with) our unpredictability and chaos, (it) will be interesting to see how we get on.

"Obviously we do like to run and carry and use our legs and get on the ball. North Sydney Oval is obviously quite small and tight, so that's going to be an adjustment for us, to see how we can manage that. I'm sure Colin (O'Riordan) and Craig (Starcevich) have something up their sleeve."

Prespakis clearly relishes the idea of playing alongside the best of the best in Australian talent.

"Just tag the others and let me off the chain. I might be playing full-forward, honestly, there's that many midfielders in the team, I'll be sitting deep forward," she said.

"We're going to triple team (Moloney), we've decided."

"One take a leg, the other take another leg…" Moloney chipped in.

"Nah she's obviously hard to compete with. I don't know the team, but once I see it, I'm sure we'll sort something out for her," Prespakis countered.

"But honestly, it's exciting to be on this journey together. I'm so excited to represent Australia, but to be able to do it with a teammate who's obviously in the other team, it's going to be such an exciting few weeks. Going to relish the whole experience together."

Tickets to the NAB AFLW Australia v Ireland game (August 1, North Sydney Oval) go on sale on Wednesday, June 24 via Ticketmaster. Club and AFL members can access tickets from 10am AEST, and general public from 12pm. Prices: adults ($25), youth 15-17 ($15), children 14 and under ($5) and family of four ($50)