Crows defender Rory Laird is preparing for a potential match-up on his captain Rory Sloane in next Friday’s State of Origin for Bushfire Relief match.

Laird will line up for the All Stars alongside teammates Brodie Smith and Taylor Walker, while their skipper in Sloane will represent Victoria.

“Hopefully he comes down forward… I’ll probably hand him over to someone else,” Laird told reporters on Tuesday.

“It’ll be a bit weird, but also a bit of fun at the same time.”

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The 26-year-old said the banter had already begun between Walker, Smith and Sloane, but he expected it to ramp up in the days leading up to the game.

“I think Tex (Walker) and him (Sloane) were getting into each other a bit, which is no surprise

“I think Smithy joined in too, but we’ll leave that for next week.”

Jokes aside, the dual All Australian half back was thrilled to be involved in such a significant event.

“I’m very excited to be playing in it… it’s for a very good cause,” Laird said.

“I think if you ask the majority of players, they all would have put their hand up, I think that’s why we’ve seen such a healthy list for both sides.”

Although he expected the game to be more relaxed than an AFL game for premiership points, Laird was prepared for things to get competitive.

“Some bits might be free flowing, but I think if it’s close, I wouldn't be surprised to see some of the competitive juices come out and a few players take it pretty seriously,” Laird said.

“We had it with AFLX,  when it got close and there was winning on the line, players just naturally do that (take it seriously).”