Aboriginal & TSI Eddie Maguires belief on how State of Origin is going to work would be a disaster.

[GC2015]

You can't include the Indigenous All Stars in a State of Origin competition. It's not fair for Indigenous players to be forced to choose between representing their home state and their Indigenous roots. It would also drastically weaken some states like South Australia (Rankine, Horne-Francis) and Western Australia (Bolton, Pickett, Hill etc). Just let every state and territory play and break it into two divisions with a promotion-relegation system that plays two games (one in February, one in October) every second year.

Div I Knockout - Loser of both Div I games relegated to Div II in 2028
Victoria
South Australia
Western Australia
New South Wales

Div II Round Robin - Top team gets promoted to Div I in 2028
Queensland
Tasmania
Northern Territory

2026 SoO Window 1
Thursday - Tasmania v Queensland @ Hobart (Div II RR 1)
Friday - South Australia v New South Wales @ Adelaide (Div I SF 1)
Saturday - Western Australia v Victoria @ Perth (Div I SF II)
Sunday - Tasmania v Northern Territory @ Launceston (Div II RR 2)

2026 SoO Window 2
Friday - Div I SF 1 Loser v Div I SF 2 Loser e.g New South Wales v Western Australia @ SCG (Relegation Game)
Saturday - Div I SF Winner v Div I SF 2 Winner e.g Victoria v South Australia @ MCG (Championship Game)
Sunday - Queensland v Northern Territory @ Brisbane/Gold Coast (Div II RR 3)

Then do it again in 2028 with the newly promoted/relegated teams.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

Aboriginal & TSI - Eddie Maguires belief on how State of Origin is going to work would be a disaster.

You can't include the Indigenous All Stars in a State of Origin competition. It's not fair for Indigenous players to be forced to choose between representing their home state and their Indigenous roots. It would also drastically weaken some states like South Australia (Rankine, Horne-Francis)...

www.bigfooty.com

A round-robin in division 2 and only knockout in Division 1? More games between the lower viewed states than the top tier? Can't see that happening.

If there's a round robin it would be with the top division (bearing in mind this is all hypothetical and the clubs will never allow anything resembling actual competitive SoO anyway).

The only slight possibility (well under 1%) of actual SoO being allowed would be October. Perhaps with reduced quarter lengths. Venues are an issue in SA and WA. Docklands, Carrara, Giants and York Park can be used when cricket grounds aren't available.

2026
SA (3) v Vic (1)
ACT (8) v Internationals (9) ????? Don't really think this one flies, just throwing it in as an idea

SA (3) v WA (2)
NT (7) v Tas (6)

Vic (1) v WA (2)
NSW (4) v Qld (5)
While it takes three weeks, players only play at most two games - the same as previously allowed with International Rules. Clubs would bitch incessantly, but the AFLPA shouldn't.

2027 International Rules in Ireland
2028 International Rules in Australia

2029 - Saturday Triple Header at Final Venue. Final and Divisional Playoffs.
WinDiv3 v LoseDiv2 13:30 Winner to Division 2 (eg. Tas v Qld)
3rdDiv1 v WinDiv2 16:00 Winner to Divsion 1 (e.g. SA v NSW)
Final - Sat 19:30 Winner is Winner

2030 International Rules in Ireland
2031 International Rules in Australia

2032
Cycle begins again with new seedings based on previous results


More likely than an ACT v Internationals game is to have separate rules for those who don't qualify for any of the seven teams (6 states + NT) to qualify under the first of the 7 where the first senior club (not academies) was based in one of the qualifying jurisdictions.

ACT is not NSW, despite AFL HQ trying to convince people that Canberra is part of Greater Western Sydney. Combined NSW/ACT should not be revisited.

"But NT and don't have enough players" - Australian Football State of Origin, not AFL State of Origin.
Plenty of NTFL, SANFL, etc players would be better at present as mid-career players than 18 and 19 year olds who may not make it AFL level anyway and become better players by the time they are mid-20s in a state league.



And after all of that, I just don't think the fan interest is there. For those of us much older people, we loved Origin. Even then, how much is just nostalgia? For many, probably most, under about 35 its a relic; they don't want it, and feel nothing for it except perhaps contempt.

 

[GC2015]

A round-robin in division 2 and only knockout in Division 1? More games between the lower viewed states than the top tier? Can't see that happening.

How'd you figure that? Go back and read the post again. It very clearly outlines 4 Div I games (all involving 'higher viewed states', as you put it) and 3 Div II games.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

How'd you figure that? Go back and read the post again. It very clearly outlines 4 Div I games (all involving 'higher viewed states', as you put it) and 3 Div II games.

Hmm. let me look again.

Two game knockout (one each) + final and relegation game for the top four.
Three game round robin (two each) : oh, I misread the promotion and relegation, you have automatic divisional swap for 4th and the winner of division 2.
Tassie's schedule is hard.

 

[GC2015]

Hmm. let me look again.

Two game knockout (one each) + final and relegation game for the top four.
Three game round robin (two each) : oh, I misread the promotion and relegation, you have automatic divisional swap for 4th and the winner of division 2.
Tassie's schedule is hard.

Yeah - Two Div I Semfinals, One Div I Championship Game and One Div I Relegation Game = Four total Div I games vs Three Div II Round Robin Games. The state that tops Div II automatically gets promoted into Div I and the loser of the Div I relegation games gets automatically relegated into Div II. Do it every second year so fans don't get sick of it.

My justification for Tassie having two games (Thursday + Sunday) in the first window is that they get to play both at home. I think that's a way to offset it by having the team that plays twice host the two round robin games in the first window. So if it was Queensland, they'd play a Thursday game in Brisbane and a Sunday game on the Gold Coast or the NT plays the first game in Darwin and the second game in Alice Springs. NSW can do the same with the SCG/Showgrounds and can even throw a Canberra game in there every now and again.

 

[Cleric]

The SOO in NRL works because it's the games where the Australian team is normally selected from.
There is no such thing in the AFL.

For the SOO to be done in the AFL it can't be a yearly thing, but rather every 5 years or so. Make it rare and desirable. On top of that, if you had an instance where one state had a far more stronger team than the others, losing every year would not be a driver for state fans. Having it every 5 years allows a new group of talent to come through.

 

[Underarm]

You can't include the Indigenous All Stars in a State of Origin competition. It's not fair for Indigenous players to be forced to choose between representing their home state and their Indigenous roots. It would also drastically weaken some states like South Australia (Rankine, Horne-Francis) and Western Australia (Bolton, Pickett, Hill etc). Just let every state and territory play and break it into two divisions with a promotion-relegation system that plays two games (one in February, one in October) every second year.

Div I Knockout - Loser of both Div I games relegated to Div II in 2028
Victoria
South Australia
Western Australia
New South Wales

Div II Round Robin - Top team gets promoted to Div I in 2028
Queensland
Tasmania
Northern Territory

2026 SoO Window 1
Thursday - Tasmania v Queensland @ Hobart (Div II RR 1)
Friday - South Australia v New South Wales @ Adelaide (Div I SF 1)
Saturday - Western Australia v Victoria @ Perth (Div I SF II)
Sunday - Tasmania v Northern Territory @ Launceston (Div II RR 2)

2026 SoO Window 2
Friday - Div I SF 1 Loser v Div I SF 2 Loser e.g New South Wales v Western Australia @ SCG (Relegation Game)
Saturday - Div I SF Winner v Div I SF 2 Winner e.g Victoria v South Australia @ MCG (Championship Game)
Sunday - Queensland v Northern Territory @ Brisbane/Gold Coast (Div II RR 3)

Then do it again in 2028 with the newly promoted/relegated teams.

You want afl coaches to sign off on their Tasmanian players playing twice in 4 days?

 

[GC2015]

You want afl coaches to sign off on their Tasmanian players playing twice in 4 days?

Potentially. Maybe a better solution would be to have the two round robin games involving the one team at the end of the season because that mitigates the risk of injuries that would affect a club's season. So then all SoO players would only play once in February and it would look like this instead:

2026 SoO Window 1 - February
Friday - South Australia v New South Wales @ Adelaide (Div I SF 1)
Saturday - Western Australia v Victoria @ Perth (Div I SF II)
Sunday - Queensland v Northern Territory @ Brisbane/Gold Coast (Div II RR 1)

2026 SoO Window 2 - October
Thursday - Tasmania v Northern Territory @ Launceston (Div II RR 2)
Friday - Div I SF 1 Loser v Div I SF 2 Loser e.g New South Wales v Western Australia @ SCG (Relegation Game)
Saturday - Div I SF Winner v Div I SF 2 Winner e.g Victoria v South Australia @ MCG (Championship Game)
Sunday - Tasmania v Queensland @ Hobart (Div II RR 3)

So whichever state/territory wins in February (Queensland in the above example), will be the one that plays second in October. That way you guarantee keeping the robin round tournament alive until October and literally every game means something. Plus, the risk of injuries affecting an AFL club's season is mitigated because the Div II teams won't play any more footy than everyone else does in the first window.

 

[Underarm]

Potentially. Maybe a better solution would be to have the two round robin games involving the one team at the end of the season because that mitigates the risk of injuries that would affect a club's season. So then all SoO players would only play once in February and it would look like this instead:

Aflpa aren't going to like players having to stay match fit for an extra 5 weeks into October either.

2026 SoO Window 1 - February
Friday - South Australia v New South Wales @ Adelaide (Div I SF 1)
Saturday - Western Australia v Victoria @ Perth (Div I SF II)
Sunday - Queensland v Northern Territory @ Brisbane/Gold Coast (Div II RR 1)

2026 SoO Window 2 - October
Thursday - Tasmania v Northern Territory @ Launceston (Div II RR 2)
Friday - Div I SF 1 Loser v Div I SF 2 Loser e.g New South Wales v Western Australia @ SCG (Relegation Game)
Saturday - Div I SF Winner v Div I SF 2 Winner e.g Victoria v South Australia @ MCG (Championship Game)
Sunday - Tasmania v Queensland @ Hobart (Div II RR 3)

So whichever state/territory wins in February (Queensland in the above example), will be the one that plays second in October. That way you guarantee keeping the robin round tournament alive until October and literally every game means something. Plus, the risk of injuries affecting an AFL club's season is mitigated because the Div II teams won't play any more footy than everyone else does in the first window.

And no one has ever played Thursday and Sunday. Just cancel the 2nd game.

 

[GC2015]

Aflpa aren't going to like players having to stay match fit for an extra 5 weeks into October either.

And no one has ever played Thursday and Sunday. Just cancel the 2nd game.

This is where you'd find out how desperate the players are to represent their state. They say they want to play, but do they really want to give up their September holidays to play? NRL players face the same decision every year when their international test window rolls around at the end of each season. So are they willing to stay fit during September and postpone any holidays until October in order to play for their state? We would find out. Keep in mind, Andrew Dillon pointed out that the reason this is back on the agenda is because the AFL were looking to introduce more marquee games into their fixture after the large crowd the Indigenous All Stars game pulled AND the players expressed a strong interest in it returning.

Alternatively, you can just play the one game in February, but I think still think you'd have to come up with some kind of system to ensure you reward winners and punish the losers so it actually means something to the players instead of playing a meaningless game just for the sake of it. The reason Queenslanders and New South Welshmen are so into State of Origin is because they know there;s a shield on the line every year. It wouldn't mean anything if they just played against random states every year for no apparent reason.

 

[glengowan]

Agree. Can't have Indigenous All-Stars playing against their State.

One weekend in late Feb each year allocated to Rep Footy.

Odd Years: Indigenous All-Stars (vs a Rising Stars Team OR a horizontal line across Australia from Alice Springs and play North vs South OR Freo...)
First Even Year: State of Origin (VIC vs SA / WA vs ALLIES)
Subsequent Even Years: Previous Winners Play Each Other to be Champions Of Australia and Previous Losers Play Each Other

The Allies develop a relationship in U18's and for the product to be decent quality and work, it's just the way it's gotta be.

Gives a taste and regular enough for a player to earn a reputation over a career as being best of the best, but at maximum the best players in the competition are only playing one extra game each year, which would otherwise be a practice match anyway.

Indigenous All-Stars is well and truly worthy of representation and a great concept, but should be classified differently to State of Origin.

 

[Shane Heard]

I watched the all stars / dockers game ..played at half pace and was as boring as watching grass grow

No one cares …SoO would be the same story.

The concept is dead in the water.

 

[tenderwarrior]

Eddie pontificated that he believes the next State of Origin series will include the Indigenous All Stars. If this turns out to be an actual plan of the AFL this would be such a poor and divisive move that I would refuse to watch it.
The idea of an IA game is not a drama, like we saw this year, but making Indigenous players choose between their state and their heritage is really disgusting. Alot of players like Izak Rankine have played for their state all through their childhood, they played alongside other state players that they have friendships with, and then to put them in a position where they have to play against their state is ridiculous. You are going to have to get them to choose, and what if a player wants to represent his state, and then that makes him feel terrible about not representing his heritage, and that may make him fall foul of the other Indigenous players. You then have state supporters turning on their state players for choosing not to represent their state.

I can't think of anything more divisive and stupid than that.

All for the IA to play a game against a club or the SANFL or VFL team, but not this.

Indigenous vs International Allstars one year, SoO the next.. though some players would qualify for both teams...

 

[catters05]

They probably could do a Vic All Stars game, but interest would probably die quick, would need to setup like the NFL stuff.

SOO SA vs WA and QLD vs NSW on the same weekend could work.

It’s silly separating indigenous stars from states.

 

[GC2015]

First Even Year: State of Origin (VIC vs SA / WA vs ALLIES)
Subsequent Even Years: Previous Winners Play Each Other to be Champions Of Australia and Previous Losers Play Each Other

The Allies develop a relationship in U18's and for the product to be decent quality and work, it's just the way it's gotta be.

It really doesn't have to be like that. This isn't like it was in the 90s when there was a serious lack of AFL talent from the northern states. Queensland and New South Wales state teams would hold their own against SA and WA these days. They may not win, but it wouldn't be ridiclously one sided. Go through the teams if you don't believe me.

I firmly believe bringing the Allies back would be a very bad idea. QLD and NSW really should have their own teams if we're going to do this.

 

[glengowan]

It really doesn't have to be like that. This isn't like it was in the 90s when there was a serious lack of AFL talent from the northern states. Queensland and New South Wales state teams would hold their own against SA and WA these days. They may not win, but it wouldn't be ridiclously one sided. Go through the teams if you don't believe me.

I firmly believe bringing the Allies back would be a very bad idea. QLD and NSW really should have their own teams if we're going to do this.

There's 30 odd Queenslanders in the AFL. There's a chance there'd be State League players filling in.

 

[kickazz]

God I'm sick of people using the word 'divisive' in place of "I like it this way and so should everyone else"

 

[Rabish Binney]

I watched the all stars / dockers game ..played at half pace and was as boring as watching grass grow

No one cares …SoO would be the same story.

The concept is dead in the water.

That game had all the hallmarks of the NBA all-star game where it's just a slam dunk game.

I'm a bit tied on SOO coming back. As one who went to Football Park in the 80's and 90's to watch SA vs VIC, I'd love to see it come back. Those games were fantastic.

On the other hand, I wouldn't want someone from my club (e.g. Jordan Dawson) do a knee and be out for the season (as Tony Hall did that day at the MCG ironically tackled by his Hawthorn team mate, Andy Collins).

But I think your right. If it does come back, it will be a half arsed concept and whilst the players have expressed their willingness to bring it back, I wonder if they really mean it?

 

[Cleric]

That game had all the hallmarks of the NBA all-star game where it's just a slam dunk game.

I'm a bit tied on SOO coming back. As one who went to Football Park in the 80's and 90's to watch SA vs VIC, I'd love to see it come back. Those games were fantastic.

On the other hand, I wouldn't want someone from my club (e.g. Jordan Dawson) do a knee and be out for the season (as Tony Hall did that day at the MCG ironically tackled by his Hawthorn team mate, Andy Collins).

But I think your right. If it does come back, it will be a half arsed concept and whilst the players have expressed their willingness to bring it back, I wonder if they really mean it?

I think with the advent of the Crows we basically get a state or origin game every week, so I think that takes a bit away from the fever we had for SOO in the old days.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

I think with the advent of the Crows we basically get a state or origin game every week, so I think that takes a bit away from the fever we had for SOO in the old days.

I've never understood this argument.
Adelaide v Richmond was not playing against a whole state, even pre-Power when the Crows could have been seen as a state team themselves. But it does seem to have been the case to an extent in SA and, a lesser extent, WA.
Its why I am so against any Tassie AFL team using "the map". That jumper is for tasking on another state on equal terms, not for use against a suburb. Club games are not the same thing at all, even if higher level.

 

[Cleric]

I've never understood this argument.
Adelaide v Richmond was not playing against a whole state, even pre-Power when the Crows could have been seen as a state team themselves. But it does seem to have been the case to an extent in SA and, a lesser extent, WA.
Its why I am so against any Tassie AFL team using "the map". That jumper is for tasking on another state on equal terms, not for use against a suburb. Club games are not the same thing at all, even if higher level.

Look at the Crows colours, compared to West Coast, Port or Fremantle.
The Crows colours are the state colours, and the Crows comes from Crow eaters, the nickname for South Australians.
The West Coast on the other hand bear no heritage to their state identity. Different colours, different emblems etc.
I'm not sure what people in WA felt when the Eagles came in, Wether it felt like a state side, but in SA the Crows came in with a massive feeling of being like a state side.
The backbone of the players were ardent SA state players like McDermott, Jarman and McGuinness.

 

[GC2015]

There's 30 odd Queenslanders in the AFL. There's a chance there'd be State League players filling in.

Nah, that's not the case anymore. Below would be very close to Queensland's 2025 team and we know there's going to be more Queenslanders drafted into the AFL later this year. You tell me whether you think this team would be competitive against the likes of NSW, SA and/or WA.

B: B.Uwland (GC), H.Andrews (Bri), J.Payne (Bri)
HB: K.Coleman (Bri), A.Aliir (PA), D.Zorko (Bri)
C: J.Fletcher (Bri), B.Keays (Ade), J.Bowes (Gee)
HF: J.Rogers (GC), E.Hipwood (Bri), L.Ashcroft (Bri)
F: E.Read (GC), J.Walter (GC), C.Cameron (Bri)
Fol: M.Chol (Haw), W.Ashcroft (Bri), W.Graham (GC)
Int: A.Davies (GC), B.Scott (NM), L.Lombard (GC), S.Marshall (Bri)
Coach: M.Voss (Car)

 

[glengowan]

Nah, that's not the case anymore. Below would be very close to Queensland's 2025 team and we know there's going to be more Queenslanders drafted into the AFL later this year. You tell me whether you think this team would be competitive against the likes of NSW, SA and/or WA.

B: B.Uwland (GC), H.Andrews (Bri), J.Payne (Bri)
HB: K.Coleman (Bri), A.Aliir (PA), D.Zorko (Bri)
C: J.Fletcher (Bri), B.Keays (Ade), J.Bowes (Gee)
HF: J.Rogers (GC), E.Hipwood (Bri), L.Ashcroft (Bri)
F: E.Read (GC), J.Walter (GC), C.Cameron (Bri)
Fol: M.Chol (Haw), W.Ashcroft (Bri), W.Graham (GC)
Int: A.Davies (GC), B.Scott (NM), L.Lombard (GC), S.Marshall (Bri)
Coach: M.Voss (Car)

Definitely competitive enough if the majority make themselves available.

My thoughts are rep footy just needs to be one weekend per year and it can't cross with the Indigenous All-Stars, therefore, one game every two years sits about right IMO. A bi-annual QLD vs NSW game would probably work, with the natural rivalry. Likewise, NT vs TAS could work if everyone needs to be represented - especially up until TAS have their own team - but those teams would be made up of a number of State-League players. VIC, WA & SA - one (the loser from the previous time) would just have to sit out each time.

 

[GC2015]

Definitely competitive enough if the majority make themselves available.

I think most probably would. State representation is held in high regard in Queensland, mainly due to the popularity of the NRL's State Origin and Queensland's success in it. So I'd assume most Queenslanders in the AFL would be keen to pull on the Maroon guernsey as they don't know if they'll ever get that opportunity again.

My thoughts are rep footy just needs to be one weekend per year and it can't cross with the Indigenous All-Stars, therefore, one game every two years sits about right IMO. A bi-annual QLD vs NSW game would probably work, with the natural rivalry. Likewise, NT vs TAS could work if everyone needs to be represented - especially up until TAS have their own team - but those teams would be made up of a number of State-League players. VIC, WA & SA - one (the loser from the previous time) would just have to sit out each time.

I still think the better option is to have either NSW or QLD compete in a Div I competition with the three traditional heavyweight states of SA, WA & VIC so we get to see the best states compete as well as the emerging states getting an opportunity to prove themselves against the highly regarded states. If a state or territory has to miss out due to there being an uneven amount of teams, then I'd rather the NT or Tasmania miss out as opposed to a big state like SA or WA.

Maybe we could do a qualifying game in the odd years to see which of the two lowest ranked states can compete in the main 6-team SoO competition each year. So it could look something like this:

2025 SoO Qualifying Match (October)
Tasmania vs Northern Territory @ Hobart

2026 SoO Main Competition (February)
South Australia v Victoria @ Adelade Oval
Western Australia v New South Wales @ Perth Stadium
Queensland v Tasmania/Northern Territory @ Gabba

Then just do that again in two years time and switch up the seeds based on which states win and change up the venues so we get different match ups every two years.

 

[fake tyrone]

State of Origin works well in the NRL because only two states in the entire country happen to be obsessed with rugby league, so that breeds a natural rivalry between the two. NSW and Queensland are also reasonably populated compared to the states that love Aussie Rules (Victoria being the exception), allowing for a fairly even contest as both have considerable talent pools to draw from.

I'm not necessarily against SOO in the AFL, but I think for it to work, the home-and-away season should be shortened so that every club plays each other once. This might create some space in the calendar to have a few weeks of matches, maybe along the lines of what other posters have been suggesting with a Division 1 and Division 2 comp that to me looks like a Six Nations concept with promotion and relegation (to borrow from European rugby union).