News "State of Origin is back" - Eddie McGuire, March 2025

[Rich01]

The big Vic tabloid appears to be salty about the Will Ashcroft situation.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/afl-state-of-origin-predicted-teams-will-ashcroft-denied-chance-to-play-for-victoria-due-to-eligibility-backflip/news-story/eb9cad82f3871d4aa711a6b0bad81fb0

Another example of vic bias for the tin foil hat brigade.

 

[GC2015]

The big Vic tabloid appears to be salty about the Will Ashcroft situation.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/afl-state-of-origin-predicted-teams-will-ashcroft-denied-chance-to-play-for-victoria-due-to-eligibility-backflip/news-story/eb9cad82f3871d4aa711a6b0bad81fb0

Another example of vic bias for the tin foil hat brigade.

The way it's being reported by the Vic media is really odd. They're insinuating that there's a double standard here because Kozzy has been given the green light to play for WA. Here's Kozzy's football path as per an article from the same publication that's pushing the Ashcroft outrage:

Pickett was born in Port Lincoln but at around three or four years of age he moved in with Rebecca, Byron Pickett’s sister, back in Perth.

... before he moved back to South Australia to be with uncle Byron at around 15 years of age.

http://heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/n...l/news-story/1e1c24206acb489582ed91b37879bae0

So Pickett lived in WA from 4-15 years of age and we're somehow supposed to think he should be aligned to South Australia just to justify the outrage surrounding Ashcroft being aligned to Queensland? Both started playing junior footy in the states that they've been aligned to and spent the vast majority of their childhood in those states. IMO Ashcroft living in Queensland from 0-14 clearly makes him a Queenslander and Pickett living in WA from 4-15 makes him a West Australian. The only difference is Kozzy was born in SA, but I don't think that's a big factor considering current Brownlow Medallist Matt Rowell was born in Sydney and no one is demanding he play for New South Wales. Kozzy's time in Port Lincoln from ages of 0 to 3/4 essentially had no bearing on his footy development at all.

 

[Bostonian]

The way it's being reported by the Vic media is really odd. They're insinuating that there's a double standard here because Kozzy has been given the green light to play for WA. Here's Kozzy's football path as per an article from the same publication that's pushing the Ashcroft outrage:

http://heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/n...l/news-story/1e1c24206acb489582ed91b37879bae0

So Pickett lived in WA from 4-15 years of age and we're somehow supposed to think he should be aligned to South Australia just to justify the outrage surrounding Ashcroft being aligned to Queensland? Both started playing junior footy in the states that they've been aligned to and spent the vast majority of their childhood in those states. IMO Ashcroft living in Queensland from 0-14 clearly makes him a Queenslander and Pickett living in WA from 4-15 makes him a West Australian. The only difference is Kozzy was born in SA, but I don't think that's a big factor considering current Brownlow Medallist Matt Rowell was born in Sydney and no one is demanding he play for New South Wales. Kozzy's time in Port Lincoln from ages of 0 to 3/4 essentially had no bearing on his footy development at all.

The clue is in the title.

Your state of origin is where you were born, nothing else should matter.

 

[Bostonian]

Gulden did his ankle in a preseason game last year that ruled him out for most of the 2025 season. Should we ban preseason games as a result?

Preseason is literally part of the preparation to get ready for the season.

This nothing game plays no part in that.

 

[GC2015]

The clue is in the title.

Your state of origin is where you were born, nothing else should matter.

Firstly, Ashcroft was born in Queensland so it actually doesn't change anything in that sense...

That's silly IMO, but if you want to go there then Victoria is going to lose current Brownlow Medallist Matt Rowell. He's going to play for NSW with the likes of other NSW born players Erol Gulden, Isaac Heeney and Callum Mills. You're also going to lose Max Gawn because he was born in New Zealand. That Victorian midfield is already looking a lot weaker without Rowell and Gawn. Is this really what you want or do you accept birthplace is rather irrelevant if you spent most of your life in another state?

 

[Bostonian]

Firstly, Ashcroft was born in Queensland so it actually doesn't change anything in that sense...

That's silly IMO, but if you want to go there then Victoria is going to lose current Brownlow Medallist Matt Rowell. He's going to play for NSW with the likes of other NSW born players Erol Gulden and Isaac Heeney. You're also going to lose Max Gawn because he was born in New Zealand. That Victorian midfield is already looking a lot weaker without Rowell and Gawn. Is this really what you want?

Who cares who is lost.

It's a Mickey mouse game. That's why they have Mickey mouse rules for who can play where.

 

[RUNVS]

Preseason is literally part of the preparation to get ready for the season.

This nothing game plays no part in that.

This can easily be part of preparation too. If Cripps is playing in State of Origin then Carlton can simply have him play one less preseason game than they were originally intending.

 

[RUNVS]

Who cares who is lost.

It's a Mickey mouse game. That's why they have Mickey mouse rules for who can play where.

So just because you don't care you are automatically assuming no one cares?

 

[Bostonian]

This can easily be part of preparation too. If Cripps is playing in State of Origin then Carlton can simply have him play one less preseason game than they were originally intending.

No it can't.

Preseason games are for working on game plans and getting used to new team mates.

And if he cops a season ending injury for this shit nothing game, then what?

Clubs season is impacted hugely by a game the club got zero benefit from.

 

[Bostonian]

So just because you don't care you are automatically assuming no one cares?

99.5% of Victorians don't care about some stupid made up interstate rivalry.

 

[RUNVS]

99.5% of Victorians don't care about some stupid made up interstate rivalry.

That sounds like a very made up number. I could say with just as much certainty that 99.5% of Carlton supporters are actually Russian bots and don't exist in real life.

 

[RUNVS]

No it can't.

Preseason games are for working on game plans and getting used to new team mates.

And if he cops a season ending injury for this shit nothing game, then what?

Clubs season is impacted hugely by a game the club got zero benefit from.

I think you underestimate Cripps.

The most important part of a preseason game is fitness, as so many players cramp in the early games of a season. Pre-season training is never as good as real matches for fitness.

 

[Bostonian]

I think you underestimate Cripps.

The most important part of a preseason game is fitness, as so many players cramp in the early games of a season. Pre-season training is never as good as real matches for fitness.

I think I'd prefer if he doesn't risk getting injured in a nothing game.

 

[Bostonian]

That sounds like a very made up number. I could say with just as much certainty that 99.5% of Carlton supporters are actually Russian bots and don't exist in real life.

No you couldn't.

Why do you think it died in the arse in the first place?

We had a national comp and people stopped giving a shit about SOO.

Just because the muppets in NSW and QLD get all excited about this kind of crap doesn't mean the rest of the country does.

 

[RUNVS]

I think I'd prefer if he doesn't risk getting injured in a nothing game.

He risks getting injured every time he plays a preseason game which is also just as much a "nothing" game.

I bet Cripps would prefer playing state of origin in a game he likely cares about more than some random presason game which he definitely would not care about.

 

[RUNVS]

No you couldn't.

Why do you think it died in the arse in the first place?

We had a national comp and people stopped giving a shit about SOO.

Just because the muppets in NSW and QLD get all excited about this kind of crap doesn't mean the rest of the country does.

It died because clubs got too much power and stopped the best players from playing.

Also I guarantee you the Victorian team that will play in a few months, if they were given a few games to play together would beat any premiership team ever. I personally want to see AFL played at a much higher level, with only the best of the best players playing, just to see what our game can look like when you don't include the bit players and only include the stars.

 

[GC2015]

99.5% of Victorians don't care about some stupid made up interstate rivalry.

Uh huh. I could just as easily say 99.5% of Carlton supporters DO care about this state game because their star players Cripps + Weitering are playing and it'll be played just a few weeks before round 1. The same can be said about Collingwood fans and Nick Daicos getting selected. You've literally just made up a number because you think it furthers your narrative of not caring, but you've already proven to us that you do care because you took the time to reply multiple times in this thread. Good one.

Why do you think it died in the arse in the first place?

We had a national comp and people stopped giving a shit about SOO.

Just because the muppets in NSW and QLD get all excited about this kind of crap doesn't mean the rest of the country does.

Because the best players stopped playing in the mid 90s when the league was becoming more professional and the clubs had more of a say on their participation. Fans weren't interested in watching a state game where a 20yo Boomer Harvey would dominate. Why do you think it's come back? Because the best players want to play and have been campaigning for many years. Look at the players that have been selected for this game in February 2026 - it's essentially the best of the best so far.

It didn't help that Victoria kept losing in the 80s and 90s, despite clearly stacking the deck and picking players like Queenslander Jason Dunstall, New South Welshman Terry Daniher, Irishman Jim Stynes, Tasmanian Darrin Prtichard and Northern Territorian Russell Jeffrey. Pretending like those players were somehow Victorian when they clearly weren't and removing any possibility of fans in other states having the chance to get some joy from state games. Fortunately, the AFL learned from their past mistakes and correctly aligned Will Ashcroft to Queensland so if we ever get to a point where Queensland gets the opportunity to play again, we'll have a genuine star player who was born and raised in Queensland lining up in the Maroon, instead of incorrectly wearing the Big V jumper in a state game.

IMO most Vics have a superior complex when it comes to footy and they can't really handle losing to those who they deem lesser than them (in this case, Queensland getting access to a Queenslander). So the Vics turned off their TVs when they were losing a lot in the late 80s and early 90s and the best players followed suit when they stopped playing state footy around the same time. It just so happened to coincide with West Coast and Adelaide dominating in the AFL. I think the Vics couldn't handle a double hit of losing in both the league and state games. One had to go to appease the Victorian public and they weren't going to stop national expansion of the league. So State of Origin died... until now.

The melts from most Victorians if they lose this 2026 Origin game to Western Australia will prove the above is true and I can't wait. Fun fact - Did you know Victoria lost to New South Wales in 1990? What a joyous occasion that would've been for the NSW boys and highly, highly embarrassing for Victoria. Those two states never played again after that game and it doesn't take a genius to work out why. Check it out:

 

[marcmurphy3]

Pretty obvious the AFL have manipulated the Ashcroft situation to get him available for QLD as there is a reasonable enough case for him to be Vic eligible.

I guess the AFL figures Ashcroft playing for Vic makes 0 difference to them. There are a heap of mids Vic could pick of similar quality. But he'd make a big difference to a future qld side.

A shame for him though as im sure he'd much rather play in a star studded Vic side. They'll play in the biggest origin matches and more often.

 

[Bostonian]

Uh huh. I could just as easily say 99.5% of Carlton supporters DO care about this state game because their star players Cripps + Weitering are playing and it'll be played just a few weeks before round 1. The same can be said about Collingwood fans and Nick Daicos getting selected. You've literally just made up a number because you think it furthers your narrative of not caring, but you've already proven to us that you do care because you took the time to reply multiple times in this thread. Good one.

Well you'd be wrong.

Our rivals are Essendon and Collingwood.

Because the best players stopped playing in the mid 90s when the league was becoming more professional and the clubs had more of a say on their participation. Fans weren't interested in watching a state game where a 20yo Boomer Harvey would dominate. Why do you think it's come back? Because the best players want to play and have been campaigning for many years. Look at the players that have been selected for this game in February 2026 - it's essentially the best of the best so far.

It's come back for money, nothing else but money.

It didn't help that Victoria kept losing in the 80s and 90s, despite clearly stacking the deck and picking players like Queenslander Jason Dunstall, New South Welshman Terry Daniher, Irishman Jim Stynes, Tasmanian Darrin Prtichard and Northern Territorian Russell Jeffrey. Pretending like those players were somehow Victorian when they clearly weren't and removing any possibility of fans in other states having the chance to get some joy from state games. Fortunately, the AFL learned from their past mistakes and correctly aligned Will Ashcroft to Queensland so if we ever get to a point where Queensland gets the opportunity to play again, we'll have a genuine star player who was born and raised in Queensland lining up in the Maroon, instead of incorrectly wearing the Big V jumper in a state game.

IMO most Vics have a superior complex when it comes to footy and they can't really handle losing to those who they deem lesser than them (in this case, Queensland getting access to a Queenslander). So the Vics turned off their TVs when they were losing a lot in the late 80s and early 90s and the best players followed suit when they stopped playing state footy around the same time. It just so happened to coincide with West Coast and Adelaide dominating in the AFL. I think the Vics couldn't handle a double hit of losing in both the league and state games. One had to go to appease the Victorian public and they weren't going to stop national expansion of the league. So State of Origin died... until now.

The melts from most Victorians if they lose this 2026 Origin game to Western Australia will prove the above is true and I can't wait. Fun fact - Did you know Victoria lost to New South Wales in 1990? What a joyous occasion that would've been for the NSW boys and highly, highly embarrassing for Victoria. Those two states never played again after that game and it doesn't take a genius to work out why. Check it out:

Yeah, you'll base your opinions on BF.

While the rest of the state won't be giving a ****.

 

[Bostonian]

It died because clubs got too much power and stopped the best players from playing.

Also I guarantee you the Victorian team that will play in a few months, if they were given a few games to play together would beat any premiership team ever. I personally want to see AFL played at a much higher level, with only the best of the best players playing, just to see what our game can look like when you don't include the bit players and only include the stars.

They are playing for the wad of cash they'll be paid.

$20,000 up to $45000 is what is making them want to play.

Not because of some state pride.

 

[Demon13304]

9

Well you'd be wrong.

Our rivals are Essendon and Collingwood.



It's come back for money, nothing else but money.



Yeah, you'll base your opinions on BF.

While the rest of the state won't be giving a ****.

9.5% of Victorians don't care about some stupid made up interstate rivalry.

Eh this is purely anecdotal but all my mates (yes they are Victorian) are very keen for this and I've got mates from WA that are very keen for this too. None of them have big footy accounts as well

Lighten up a bit mate

 

[GC2015]

Well you'd be wrong.

Our rivals are Essendon and Collingwood.

Okay mate. You can keep living in the 1970s where all you care about is whether the Blues beat Essendon or Collingwood. I'm going to focus on whether my team can find a way to beat the two-time defending premiers Brisbane in 2026 and I'll embrace the return of state footy for what it is. I'm at least going to give this iteration a chance before deciding if I hate it!

Let's revisit this in February and see if 'no one in Victoria gives a sh*t' like you suggest. I reckon we'll see good TV viewership for this game (even in Victoria) and a sell out crowd in Perth. That's my prediction and I wouldn't be surprised if the success leads to another state game being booked between Victoria and South Australia in 2027.

 

[Bjo187]

Who cares who is lost.

It's a Mickey mouse game. That's why they have Mickey mouse rules for who can play where.

Gee this kind of attitude is tiresome.

 

[RUNVS]

Gee this kind of attitude is tiresome.

Well it is easy to imagine why Carlton fans have trained themselves not to feel joy or even excitement.

 

[Cmarsh]

No you couldn't.

Why do you think it died in the arse in the first place?

We had a national comp and people stopped giving a shit about SOO.

Just because the muppets in NSW and QLD get all excited about this kind of crap doesn't mean the rest of the country does.

The WA vs Vic game in February is virtually sold out. I guess they care more than you think.