EXCLUSIVE: Aussie Olympic hero Jamie Dwyer backs 'perfect role model' Eddie Ockenden for flag bearer honour

PARIS: Australia's two flag bearers for the Olympic opening ceremony will be revealed at the Monnaie de Paris on Wednesday night (AEST).

In the view of Kookaburras legend Jamie Dwyer, the men's flag bearer honour should be awarded to Australian hockey champion Eddie Ockenden.

The 37-year-old from Hobart is the most capped Australian hockey player in history and is about to become a five-time Olympian.

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Australian Olympic team chef de mission Anna Meares will announce one female and one male to carry the flag at the opening ceremony, taking place on the River Seine on Saturday morning (AEST).

"The way he goes about his sport and how he represents Australia and always has, he's a role model, he's never in trouble, he's always on that pitch giving 100 per cent and he's a real team player, so he would be a great leader for the team," Dwyer, a Stan Sport expert commentator for Paris 2024, told Wide World of Sports.

"Whether it's for the Kookaburras or whether it's for the whole Olympic squad, he's got that personality to lead from the front, more so with his actions than words.

"Hockey is one of the big priorities for Australia at the Olympics, it's one of those sports we want to win.

"Eddie has been there [at four Olympic Games] and he's competed and it would be a great way to honour him [by making him a flag bearer].

"I'm speaking with bias because I'm a hockey player and because Eddie's my friend, but I think he's just the perfect role model."

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Ockenden is the only man in Australian hockey history to have made 400 international appearances.

He made his Olympic debut as a 21-year-old at the Beijing 2008 Games, where the Kookaburras won bronze, before helping the team to another bronze medal at London 2012, sixth place at Rio 2016 and silver in Tokyo.

He won World Cup titles with Australia in 2010 and 2014, and was awarded Kookaburras player of the year in 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2019.

Among the leading contenders to be the male flag bearer are Matt Wearn, Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Kyle Chalmers and Cameron McEvoy, while some of the top female contenders are Jess Fox, Emma McKeon, Melissa Wu, Charlotte Caslick and Lauren Jackson.

"It might be a bit of a distraction to carry the flag. There's a bit of pressure on you and maybe more interviews," said Dwyer, whose missile of a shot at the Athens 2004 Games lifted the Kookaburras to Olympic glory.

"But I think he would handle it easily."

The Paris Games will see an Olympic opening ceremony staged outside of a stadium for the first time in history.

Instead of the iconic parade of athletes circling around a stadium, athletes will pile onto boats assigned to national Olympic committees and coast down the River Seine.

It's estimated that almost 100 boats carrying about 10,500 athletes will meander down the famous river.

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"It would be the best, I reckon. I'd love it," said Dwyer, who made his last Olympic appearance in Rio in 2016.

"Just sitting on that boat with the rest of the Australian team, with the Australian flag, going through a beautiful city on the river, I think it would be amazing. I think it's a great initiative.

"Maybe Brisbane could do it," he added with a laugh.

"Being an athlete I'd be so happy to do that."