Patrick Cripps would be the obvious pick for a WA-led team in a revamped AFL State of Origin game, but who leads Victoria is a question not so easily answered.

On the back of the success of the pre-season Indigenous All-Stars match in Perth, and with several high-profile AFL captains backing the idea, momentum for a state-based representative game appears to be growing.

Channel 7 analyst Caroline Wilson revealed on The Agenda Setters last night that Origin is set to return in 2026, with Victoria taking on Western Australia.

It would be a one-game-only event, with South Australia set to miss out. The view is that because SA has Gather Round, playing a State of Origin game at Optus Stadium would provide a great pre-season spectacle in the AFL-mad west.

Origin-style matches have only been played twice this century — both featuring Victoria against the rest of the country.

Victoria defeated a Dream Team in a 2008 Hall of Fame tribute match, and also accounted for an All-Stars team in the 2020 bushfire relief match.

The last official State of Origin fixture was in 1999, when Victoria thrashed South Australia 121–67 in front of just 26,000 people at the MCG.

Brent Harvey won the E.J. Whitten Medal for being the best Victorian on the ground, while Andrew McKay was awarded the Fos Williams Medal as the best-performing SA player.

WA played the Allies — a team made up of players from the ACT, NSW, NT, and Queensland — from 1995 to 1997, but the concept was discontinued due to a lack of interest from footy fans.

The last game between Victoria and WA was in 1992, which was a Victorian victory 104–88 at the MCG.

“I reckon it’s going to happen, and I reckon it’s going to happen in February next year,” Wilson said on The Agenda Setters.

“And I reckon it’s going to be Western Australia versus Victoria.

“The AFL captains said they wanted it earlier this year. The AFL wants to be convinced that the 18 club captains are going to support this.”

It is hoped the success of Gather Round would temper any frustration from South Australians about not being included.

“I think because obviously Adelaide has Gather Round at the moment—and that’s going to happen again at least next year, and we think for many years to come—I think the view is WA versus Victoria would be the perfect fit for next February,” Wilson said.

“Obviously, the All-Stars played this year in Perth, so maybe the All-Stars will be the year after the State of Origin game.”

Collingwood great Dale Thomas said two-time Brownlow medallist Cripps or West Coast’s All-Australian defender Jeremy McGovern could skipper a WA team

Max Gawn, Patrick Dangerfield, and Marcus Bontempelli were the contenders to lead Victoria.

“There’s plenty of options (for the Vics),” Thomas said.

In February, Dangerfield supported a return to representative football.

“We (the AFL captains) discussed timing, and February was a high note amongst the players, where we think it could work,” the Cats skipper said.

“There’s obviously a fair bit to go in around that — you want availability, first and foremost. You want the best players playing, and you don’t want to jeopardise their availability for the upcoming season for their teams.

“And you want crowd support. So if you can get those three ducks in a row, I think it would be great for the game.”

Cripps also showed his enthusiasm for playing for his state.

“I would 100 per cent play,” he said pre-season.

“I think if you’re ever going to have a time to do it, it’s this time — because you’re playing a lot of intra-clubs or pre-season matches.

“Just watching the All-Star game, I thought the atmosphere was unbelievable.”

AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon has previously said the league was keen to resurrect Origin.

“I can’t rule it in and can’t rule it out (for 2026), but it will certainly be a conversation that I’d like to have,” he said in February.

Wilson said the key to Origin returning was buy-in from the AFL’s stars as there would be inevitable push-back from coaches and clubs about injuries and workload.

“I just hope the players support it,” she said.

With 7NEWS