West Coast star Josh Kennedy has revealed he won’t play in this month’s state game between Victoria and the All-Stars at Marvel Stadium.

But Kennedy isn’t injured and hasn’t asked to be left out of the team.

He was full of praise for the state game concept and said other players had simply been selected ahead of him.

Only three players from each club are allowed to be chosen and Kennedy said he wasn’t one of the elite group from the Eagles.

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Camera Icon The Eagles star said he had been enjoying one of his best pre-season preparations in years. Credit: Danella Bevis / The West Australian

“I’d love to, but we’ve got a few other guys going over,” Kennedy said on 3AW.

“It’s fantastic to see and the reason they’re doing it is even better - raising money for the bushfires.

“It’s going to be great to see the best players in the competition being able to go over and have a game that we haven’t had in many years.

“It’s a good time of the year to do it because it’s not during the season and guys are starting to get into that game set up. It’s going to be pretty exciting. For the guys that go over, it’s going to be fantastic.”

Kennedy missed only two games last season but rarely reached the heights that Eagles fans have been accustomed to. He kicked 49 goals but was restricted to two majors or fewer 13 times.

Kennedy admitted he’d struggled in recent seasons to build his fitness over summer as a result of post-season surgery but said he was enjoying his best preparation in many years.

Vision of Kennedy and defender Will Schofield engaging in a brutal contest of wills was widely seen on social media last week and the star forward said that was another sign of how good he felt at this time of the year.

“I didn’t have any surgery at the end of last year which is probably the first time in about three years. I was able to start on day one,” Kennedy said.

“Usually at this time of year I’m always feeling like I’m trying to chase to get fit for games and that race to round one. At the moment I feel like I’m cruising through.”