WESTERN Bulldogs forward Robert Murphy revealed he had to overcome personal demons for him to be eligible to be picked for Victoria in Saturday night's Hall of Fame tribute match.

Murphy said the timing of the one-off game could not have been better because he said he was in career-best form at the moment.

But he admitted he had doubts about whether he could ever get close to his best following a season-ending knee reconstruction in 2006.

"They're the demons you faced the weeks, months, after the operation, so yeah it's nice to be out here," Murphy said.

Murphy said players would not be holding back to safeguard themselves from injury.

He said the AFL's elite were very competitive and expected it would be a high-tempo match.

But he acknowledged the pressure was on the Big V, which would be playing in front of a very parochial Victorian home crowd.

"There will be a fair bit of expectation on the whole state of Victoria riding along with us, so there's a fair amount of responsibility that comes with that," Murphy said.

"But I think we've got the right cattle to do us proud."

It is expected Murphy will line-up on Dream Team captain Andrew McLeod but he said he would enjoy the challenge of marking one of the game's damaging half-backs.

"It's always nice to get front row tickets to see Andrew McLeod if he happens to be right next to me I'll be doing my best to stop him," Murphy said.

Murphy admitted he was actually in awe of the Big V and said the romantic appeal of the guernsey meant he had to pause for a couple of minutes before he pulled it on.

And while he hoped his nerves would settle down come game time, Murphy admitted the one hour training session with the rest of the Victorian squad was a real thrill.

"My feet didn't touch the ground," Murphy said.

"It was like my first game, I wasn't expecting it to tell you the truth.

"I was a little bit jumpy and jittery. In the changerooms it was a little bit worse but out here it was nice to slip in the rhythm of just training.

"It all went too quick, I wish it had of gone a bit longer."

Tickets for the Hall of Fame Tribute Match are selling fast. Get your tickets online from the ticketmaster website, via phone on 1300 136 122 or by visiting a ticketmaster outlet.