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Live sport on SN this weekendWhy Simpson has his doubts on AFL Origin
Jaiden Sciberras • August 15th, 2025 12:28 pm
The AFL is on the verge of announcing a return to the highly anticipated State of Origin, however premiership coach Adam Simpson has his doubts.
A matter of days ago, CEO Andrew Dillon announced that conversations have commenced with governing bodies with hopes of a potential contest between Victorian and Western Australian representatives in the early stages of 2026.
"Conversations are in progress with state governments and also with our players and our clubs," Dillon said.
"I'm really keen to see that our best players on the ground at the same time.
"The All-Stars game at the start of the year showed that there's a real appetite for seeing that.
"Hopefully there will be an announcement soon."
While the concept will see a range of top AFL talent sharing a jersey in all-star fashion, Simpson believes that the previously failed format leaves a little to be desired.
“This is an opinion piece, I’m not representing anyone, but why didn’t it work?” Simpson told SEN Whateley.
“They’ve got to look at that, because you’ll get the sugar hit, and it might work for a year or two, but what you don’t want is in three years’ time it’s like ‘ugh’.
“You’re (Marcus) Bontempelli, ‘do I want to play this game? What are we playing for anyway? It’s not a genuine hatred anyway, we’re all mates.’
“Whereas the State of Origin for Queensland (Rugby), we’re never going to get that. Unless there’s an all in (brawl) one day, and it’s on, state versus state, mate versus mate.
“I worry that it’ll be all fun and games, (and) it’ll be a bit light. Even the (Indigenous) All-Star game pre-season, I really enjoyed that.
“I loved it, and I thought the First Nations’ team, they played with real spirit and vigour and hunger. What’s that going to be like in four years’ time? I just worry about that.”
The first official AFL State of Origin game took place in the late 1970s, with the format expanding to feature all of Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland and ACT.
‘The Allies’ were formed in 1994, combining players from Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. The concept saw a rapid decline, with the format transitioning into a form of exhibition rather than a true tournament.
The final official State of Origin clash featuring Victoria and South Australia took place in 1999, while in 2020, the AFL revived the concept for Bushfire Relief, with Victoria taking down the All-Stars.
