Tauranga brothers Sam and Ben O'Dea after Gold Coast gold

Ben, left, and Sam O'Dea at the New Zealand team announcement at Mount Main Beach yesterday. PHOTO/GEORGE NOVAK

Sam and Ben O'Dea are gunning for gold at the Commonwealth Games to be held on Australia's Gold Coast in April.

The Tauranga brothers were named today at Mount Main Beach to represent New Zealand in beach volleyball at the sport's debut at the games.

"We are seeded fourth behind Canada, Australia and England but we are aiming for gold. We want to make a semifinal first and then go for it," Ben, 25, said.

"Australia has a reputation for putting on really cool sporting events. I saw a photo of the arena they have built and it looks pretty amazing. I am a player who likes the bigger the crowd the better so feeling the atmosphere on centre court with thousands of people watching will make it an amazing place to play beach volleyball.

"Being part of that environment and playing next to my brother is something pretty surreal when I think about it."

Older brother Sam, 27, who is studying to be a chiropractor, says their focus now is to prepare the best they can for April's milestone event.

"Our thought process leading into it is just to be in the best physical condition we can be to play. Ben had some shoulder problems but he has managed it pretty well throughout the qualification period," Sam said.

"I guess the main thing is we are just super excited to play and we are pretty confident in our build-up to be in top condition when we get there."

Sam says the Commonwealth Games selection is a vital step along the path to their ultimate goal to represent New Zealand at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

"The Commonwealth Games selection helps us on our Olympic journey in many ways and is a great opportunity to put the sport in the spotlight and perform well for New Zealand."

The O'Dea brothers played together at the end of their junior years and at the start of their senior careers but over the last three to four years have been on the world tour with different partners.

Ben says it was inevitable they would end up back together as a team.

"We played together for about four years and we had some really good results through Asia and the world circuit but we kind of needed a break. Being brothers I am sure most people can understand you live together, you hang out together and play volleyball together so then it is nice to have a break from each other.

"It was inevitable we were going to play together again and there are so many people in New Zealand who are happy to support us. As soon as we realised that beach volleyball was in the Commonwealth Games and we wanted to have a real crack at Tokyo we thought our best option was getting back together."

The O'Dea brothers will prepare for the Commonwealth Games in Germany with their German coach, Markus Diekmann.