It's the same reason I'd say Will Ashcroft should play for Queensland in a hypothetical SoO match. Born and raised on the Gold Coast where he spent the first 14.5 years of his life and returned to Queensland for a year when he was 17. I don't think spending just under three years in Victoria should make him eligible for the Big V when he spent nearly 16 years in Queensland. Walter did an even split between WA & Queensland by moving over at age 9 but obviously the second half of those years are far more influential when it comes to football development so I'd preference Queensland for that reason. The most recent SoO rules also preference it that way.It's a good point on Walter, soo representation should be based upon where you have spent the bulk of your years. So that difference in ages 9, compared to 13, changes things.
I didn't know that about Rogers, all i knew is one of his parents is South African (which i probably heard from you anyway). PBC is an absolute factory for producing sports stars.
All I can find on Rogers is that he was born in Melbourne but moved to the Gold Coast at a "young age". I believe his mother is South African and I'd say his father is a Melbourne native that got him into footy. Not sure if he played any junior footy in Melbourne but I know he was playing for Broadbeach in the U9s local GCAFL competition a decade ago. So Rogers has spent at least 10 years living on the GC and is very much a local in that sense. Read and Graham have also played at PBC since the U10s level.
IMO Ashcroft, Walter, Read, Rogers and Graham should all play for Queensland in a hypothetical SoO competition based on their backgrounds, which means the Maroons have the potential to be a very strong state team in a few years from now.