After 25 years, interstate football is back — but can it recapture its former fire?

Source : ABC NEWS

Everyone wants the best of the best.

For many footy fans, especially those who grew up before the AFL became a truly national competition, the highest stage was not the premiership. It was interstate football, where the fiercest rivalries were played out in state colours.

And the vitriol ran deep.

South Australians proudly chanted “Kick a Vic”, while in 1990 the late Ted Whitten revelled in the Victorians having “stuck it right up them” — the “them” being Western Australia.

In a sport defined by passion, state representative football was among its most intense expressions. Careers were made and sometimes ended while wearing state guernseys.

Interstate football helped shape the game itself. The women’s competition also grew through national carnivals in recent years, spreading the sport across the country.

But as the code professionalised and nationalised, the heat went out of representative fixtures.

But after a break of more than a quarter of a century, a battle between two proud football states is returning.

A capacity crowd at Perth Stadium, and perhaps millions watching at home, will soon see what emerges from the ashes of footy past.

Will it be a rebirth, a farewell, or something in between?

How representative football built the game

One reason fans still care about State of Origin is what it once meant.

In the late 1800s, intercolonial matches helped cement Australian rules as the dominant code in several states. While the game’s rules were formalised in Victoria, early clubs in Brisbane and Adelaide played a mix of codes. Some followed Victorian rules, others rugby, and some switched between styles.

The first known intercolonial match was in 1877, when Carlton travelled to Sydney’s Waratah club. They played one game under rugby rules and one under Victorian rules. Each side won on its own terms.

Two years later, South Australia sent a representative side to Victoria. Even making the trip was significant. At the time, South Australia was debating whether to adopt rugby or the Victorian code. South Adelaide stalwart and future premier Charles Kingston argued that interstate competition would only be possible if the colony aligned with the Victorian rules.

South Australia chose Australian rules and travelled east soon after, losing heavily but helping secure the game’s future in the state.

Elsewhere, a lack of regular intercolonial football was a factor in Queensland turning to rugby. Western Australia, now one of the strongest football states, was the last mainland state to fully embrace the code, held back in part by distance.

A quiet death and low-key return

Interstate football produced many memorable moments. Many Victorians see the 1989 clash between South Australia and Victoria at the MCG, in front of 90,000 fans, as the peak. South Australians still point to their wins in 1986 and 1987, while Western Australians remember their own triumphs over Victoria.

But the fall from those heights was steep.

By 1999, just 26,000 people turned up to the MCG to watch Victoria beat South Australia on a wet day. The match was scrappy, and star players were increasingly unavailable.

That final game is often seen as the death of State of Origin, but the decline had started earlier. In 1998, 20 of the AFL’s top 25 players were initially named for interstate teams. Only nine ended up playing.

Travel demands, injury concerns and club priorities all took their toll. Western Australia fielded just one recent All Australian in its 1998 loss to South Australia. At the Gabba, the Allies were missing a string of elite players in a heavy defeat to Victoria.

Crowds dropped. TV audiences fell below regular AFL home and away games. Even the league acknowledged that only South Australia versus Victoria in Adelaide consistently drew strong interest.

After an Olympics driven pause in 2000, interstate football largely disappeared, aside from occasional charity matches.

A new dawn?

The revived State of Origin openly draws on the past, but it also reflects the realities of the modern game.

Victorian coach Chris Scott has acknowledged the shift, saying no one should pretend State of Origin is the pinnacle and it should not affect club priorities.

This version is being played outside the regular season, a move that reflects concerns dating back to the 1990s. Club football now clearly comes first.

A preseason match brings its own challenges. Players are cautious. Conditions are hot. Teams have limited time to train together, and modern game plans are complex.

Extended benches and proposed minute restrictions are designed to protect players and ensure participation from elite talent. That may also limit the spectacle.

It could still be compelling, but February is not when football is at its sharpest.

The question of balance

Great rivalries depend on evenly matched opponents. Rugby league’s State of Origin is the gold standard. Two states, a simple contest, and a relatively even spread of talent.

Australian Rules has never quite had that balance.

In the early days, other states occasionally claimed victories. But as the sport grew, Victoria’s population and resources gave it a consistent edge.

The league still has more Victorian players than the rest of the country combined.

That imbalance has made it harder to replicate the sustained intensity of New South Wales versus Queensland.

Western Australia provides one of the most competitive match-up with Victoria, given its talent base. Many players on both sides are recent All Australians, with only a couple of notable absences through injury or selection.

Getting through year one is the immediate challenge. Even if it succeeds, more questions will follow. South Australia will be eager to be involved again, and any expansion will depend on who is willing to fund it.

But first, the football must stand up.

A generation after the last match of the old era, fans will finally get another chance to see many of the best players on the same field in state colours. On Saturday, we will learn whether Origin can reclaim a place in the modern game.

The AFL Origin 2026 Western Australia v Victoria game starts at 4:40pm at Perth Stadium on Saturday, February 14.