AFL stars-stacked SA to return to Origin footy after yawning gap

Image: Perth Stadium, photobom, CC BY 2.0

South Australia (SA) will return to Origin footy for the first time in 28 years with the Australian Football League (AFL – the pre-eminent professional competition of Australian Rules football) confirming the next three years of the Australian Associated Motor Insurers (AAMI) AFL Origin fixtures which will be shared between Perth and Adelaide (Australia) as the hosts.

‘AFL’ stated that South Australia will travel to the 61,266-capacity Optus Stadium in Perth to take on Western Australia in February next year before hosting bitter rival Victoria at what is sure to be a heaving 53,500-seat Adelaide Oval in early 2028.

The Origin footy in South Australia refers to representative Australian Rules football where the players return to play for a South Australian team based on where they grew up or played junior footy rather than their current club.

The Australian Rules football is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. The points are scored by kicking the oval ball between the central goal posts (worth six points), or between a central and outer post (worth one point, otherwise known as a ‘behind’).

‘AFL’ further stated that then, in 2029, Victoria will return to the Optus Stadium to take on Western Australia in a rematch of this year’s AAMI AFL Origin game.

The AAMI AFL Origin is a representative Australian Rules football match where the elite players compete for their home States under classic State of Origin selection rules.

The AFL has not ruled out an Origin match at the 100,024-seat Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Victoria from 2030 onward involving the ‘Big V’ (the historic nickname and emblem for the ⁠Victoria Australian Rules football team) while the Indigenous All-Stars (a representative Australian Rules football team in the Australian Football League consisting entirely of players who identify as the Indigenous Australians) are set to feature again within the next three years after reigniting representative football in 2025.
 

‘Right Mix’

Averred Andrew Dillon, Head Honcho, AFL, “The Victorians love their representative footy as well. What we wanted to do first of all was give everyone the opportunity. This year was the concept that proved it and then we’ll run through the three traditional footy States of Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia playing each other in that three-year period. Then who knows where we end up from 2030. We’re starting to see more talent coming out of New South Wales and Queensland as well. But at the moment, I think we’ve just got the right mix.”
 

AFL Stars

A stacked South Australian side that could feature stars such as Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (Australian Rules footballer playing for the St Kilda Football Club in AFL), Lachie Neale (Australian Rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the AFL), Jordan Dawson (Australian Rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL), Jason Horne-Francis (a professional Australian Rules footballer currently playing for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the AFL), and Brodie Grundy (a professional Australian Rules footballer playing for the Sydney Swans in the AFL) will pull on the famous red jumper in what will be the State’s first Origin appearance since 1999.

In Australian Rules football Origin (State of Origin) refers to the representative matches where the elite ⁠AFL players represent the Australian State or territory where they grew up or first learned the game rather than their regular club teams.

The State vs. state representative footy made a successful return in February this year after a 27-year absence when Victoria defeated Western Australia by 24 points in the 2026 AAMI AFL Origin clash in front of 58,141 fans packed into the Optus Stadium.
 

Inspiring Passion

Added Dillon, “The State football is one of the great traditions of our game and we are pleased to see it continue in 2027 and beyond after the huge success of its return earlier this year which saw more than 58,000 people fill Optus Stadium in Perth. Origin inspires passion, the State pride and draws upon decades of rivalries that are central to the history of our game and our greatest players. Locking in the structure for the next three years provides the fans, the clubs, the players, and the stakeholders certainty on Origin allowing them to embrace the State rivalry and celebrate our great game.”

Glen Jakovich (celebrated former Australian Rules footballer) will remain Western Australia’s Chairman of selectors for the 2027 game with the Victorian counterpart Garry Lyon (a celebrated former Melbourne Football Club player) also staying on in his role when Victoria resumes in 2028.
 

Representative Football

Jakovich said it was right that Western Australia hosted three of the first four Origin games since its return this year with the Western Australia and Victoria players proving representative football at the elite level deserved its place on the calendar.
 

Jumper Privilege

Stated Jakovich, “The opportunity to wear the jumper is an utmost privilege and something that we try and instill with our young kids that are coming through. It was a successful night, February 14th, although we didn’t get the result. We were bitterly disappointed, but we left it all out there … and no one took a backward step. They said it was going to be circle work and bruise-free footy. Well, if you had seen what transpired, it was two Sates, mate versus mate … and they didn’t hold back. So, it gives us a great opportunity.”

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