State of Origin should become a permanent part of the football calendar with the AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon wanting representative football, played by the game’s best, being the first match of each new year.
The AFL deemed the return of State of Origin on Saturday night a success with Dillon saying he now wants State of Origin games or an Indigenous All Stars game to be played in the pre-season each year on rotation.
Marcus Bontempelli and Hugh McCluggage celebrate Victoria’s win.Credit: AFL Photos
The league wants to stage another State of Origin game next pre-season with the location and teams involved still to be decided.
“We feel there is proper momentum now to build on Saturday night and continue next year and beyond as a permanent fixture on the footy calendar,” Dillon said.
“The players showed they want that opportunity to play rep footy and that was reflected in the quality of the game.
“The size of the crowd gives us great confidence, and the way the fans so passionately embraced it, both in lead up and on Saturday is a big factor.”
There were 58,000 people at Optus Stadium on Saturday night with more than a million people on average nationally watching the game on free to air and pay tv services.
“I think we have the right window for it to be played in the pre-season. I think the first game of the season being played by the best players in a representative game is a good way for footy to return for the year,” Dillon said.
Players said they enjoyed the game and wanted it to continue.
“I would rather play this than a practice match,” Victoria’s Toby Greene said after the match.
Several clubs’ general managers of football, who did not want to be named, said they supported State of Origin becoming permanent but wanted shorter games of 16 or 18 minute quarters with time-on added. Shortened games of this length were played during COVID.
Clubs also wanted early warning of any players earmarked to potentially play so they could tailor the players’ pre-season training program around it. They also wanted better financial coverage and salary cap relief in the event a player was injured and missed club games.
Marcus Bontempelli and Max Gawn of Victoria lead the team onto the ground.Credit: Getty Images
“The thing for us now is to iron out the details of what it looks like into the future. We will work with clubs and the players on that,” Dillon said.
“My personal view is there is scope for one game per pre-season. I think the game could probably be a bit shorter, 26–27 minutes quarters not 31–33 minutes.
“In principle, I think there is an appetite for it to build and to capitalise on the momentum we have got. We had the Indigenous All Stars game last year and I think you could look at an All Stars game every three years. So, possibly, another State of Origin Game next year and an Indigenous all-stars game the year after.”
The AFL will look to either WA to host again next year, or South Australia. Broadcasters are highly likely to want Victoria playing in any match because of the extra TV audience it draws.
Players and fans from NSW, Queensland and Tasmania will want to be involved in State of Origin games but the football managers spoken to by this masthead described the Allies concept as a flawed compromise and none of those states presently would be strong enough to field a stand-alone team.
The AFL general managers of football meet next week with origin on the agenda. Quarter lengths, player payments, injury payment protection for clubs and or salary cap relief if players are injured in state games are among the issues to be discussed.
AFL players bought into the State of Origin game. Shae Bolton, one of WA’s best, tackled here by Victoria’s Nick Daicos Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
The AFL Players Association chief executive James Gallagher said the players wanted origin to return permanently. The AFLPA reached an agreement with the AFL for this year as a one-off game, but they were happy to negotiate a long-term agreement to maintain the concept.
Players were paid a base of $20,000 each for the game with the captains earning more and certain other players being paid extra as “ambassadors” by the WA state government and Tourism WA.
“Before the game players thought there was a place for State of Origin to return permanently. The discussions I’ve had with players during the week and after the game have been overwhelmingly positive and reinforced that,” Gallagher said.
“The players’ commitment was fantastic. You could see that with how keen they were to pull on the WA and Victorian jumpers.
“We worked with the AFL for a deal for this year’s game. We’ve started our review with players. Once complete, we’ll work through the details of it moving forward with the AFL.”
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