Under the selection rules for the inaugural All Stars team, only one player from each NRL club can be picked. But even last week's surge in support nearly wasn't enough for Cooper to make the line-up ahead of second-rower Ben Creagh.

Cooper finished less than 200 votes ahead of Creagh, the closest count of players from the same club. The team was chosen not only based on the votes of the four nominees from each club, it also compared votes of players in the same position.

But when voting closed, Cooper was in, narrowly ahead of Kiama junior Josh Morris, who won an interchange position.

"Last night I got a tip that Matt Cooper may miss out and the votes were getting pretty close," Bennett said at the team announcement yesterday.

"I nearly had to vote for him myself to get him across the line."

Bennett has indicated he will have Cooper marking up against powerful indigenous centre Greg Inglis in the Gold Coast battle.

Brisbane's Israel Folau received the most votes in the "outside back" category and he will play on the wing.

Warriors star Manu Vatuvei is the other winger.

Cooper's selection will be the first step in resurrecting his State of Origin career after missing out on NSW selection last year.

After virtually having a mortgage on the NSW left centre position since debuting in 2004, the 30-year-old was overlooked in preference of Jennings, while Morris also wore the sky blue jersey for the first time last season.

Cooper is back to full fitness after battling a heel injury during the second half of last season.

While Folau dominated the Broncos' voting, it was a close race for the St George Illawarra representatives, with Creagh and Kiwi international Jeremy Smith also polling well with fans.