AFL locks in date for blockbuster State of Origin return between Victoria and Western Australia
After months of speculation, 7NEWS Melbourne's Mitch Cleary has confirmed Saturday, February 14 as the day that state footy will make its long awaited return after what will be 27 years by then.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: AFL State of Origin set for return next February.
Cleary revealed it will be Western Australia that takes on the Big V when the game kicks off next year.
'All parties are in the final stages of negotiation that will see WA host Victoria at Optus Stadium,' Cleary told 7NEWS Melbourne on Monday night,
'7NEWS understands the AFL and WA government held productive talks late last week, the last haggling down to the exact split on who foots the bill, and gate-takings.
'The will likely see Harley Reid the star attraction for Victoria, in Perth. The headlines just write themselves.
'The game is expected to count towards the players' pre-season schedule, excusing them from a club pre-season game.'
The Agenda Setters' Carlton Wilson reported in May that AFL captains had expressed a desire for an event this year, but the league did not want to shoehorn it into an already full calendar.
'I reckon it's going to happen and I reckon it's going to happen in February next year. And I reckon it's going to be West Australia versus Victoria.' Wilson said at the time.
'The AFL captains said they wanted it earlier this year. The AFL want to be convinced that (the 18 club captains) are going to support this.'
Before AFL State of Origin was scrapped, the great rivalry over the years was between Victoria and South Australia, with the Victoria and Western Australia rivalry a close second.
'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 in May.
The buzz around State of Origin started earlier this year when the Indigenous All Stars took on Fremantle at Optus Stadium in an exhibition match in February.
In 2020, an exhibition game was played between Victoria and a combined All-Stars team as a bushfire-relief charity game.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
There are plenty of shows talking footy – this one takes on the AFLW
AFL broadcaster Kate McCarthy, who joined Seven's commentary crew in 2024 following a playing career with the Brisbane Lions, St Kilda and Hawthorn, takes a 'holistic' view of the women's game in light of reports it is suffering annual losses of $50 million. As co-host of Talking W, Seven's AFLW answer to the now defunct Talking Footy, McCarthy says there are more important markers of sporting success than money. 'When you invest in something, you invest in it for the long run,' she says. 'If you sit back and think of the impact that women's football has had, it's been far greater than the financial returns … If you look at it holistically, that it's here to stay – and the AFL have been very strong in their discussions about that – it's got huge momentum.' Launched last year to plug a gap in longer-form AFLW analysis, Talking W covers the 10th AFLW season with a different line-up. McCarthy's original co-host, former Adelaide player and Australian Survivor contestant Abbey Holmes, is taking a break after the birth of her baby in June. In her place is former Fox Footy reporter Riley Beveridge. 'We wanted to have a show that was covering the women's side of things and to be able to analyse and critique, or talk about the positives of women's football and AFLW because there hadn't been a lot of coverage from these sorts of shows on networks,' says McCarthy. 'We have plenty of football shows dedicated to men's football, and Seven was really keen on having one that was dedicated to women's football as well. To be able to build on what we created last year is going to be important.' In a sign of the continuing evolution of TV footy chat, which has been steadily moving away from male-dominated formats, Seven's footy show slate has shifted this year. Instead of Talking Footy, there are two new shows: The Agenda Setters (with Craig Hutchison, Kane Cornes, Caroline Wilson and Nick Riewoldt) on Mondays and Tuesdays on 7plus, and Hamish McLaren's Unfiltered on Wednesdays on Seven. The latter follows the decade-old Front Bar at 8.30pm, with Mick Molloy, Sam Pang and Andy Maher. 'I've only worked in really respectful environments,' says McCarthy. 'The men or women that I've worked with have done it in a way where there hasn't really been any of that locker room talk, or talk where it would be not accepted. We've moved past that now as a footballing community.' McCarthy also welcomes the perspective her new co-host Beveridge will bring. 'We have done the round so far together on and Riley is a fantastic analyst and very well versed across both men's and women's football, and has been since season one of women's football,' she says. 'So it's going to be great to be alongside him … It's important to have diverse voices.'
The Age
3 hours ago
- The Age
There are plenty of shows talking footy – this one takes on the AFLW
AFL broadcaster Kate McCarthy, who joined Seven's commentary crew in 2024 following a playing career with the Brisbane Lions, St Kilda and Hawthorn, takes a 'holistic' view of the women's game in light of reports it is suffering annual losses of $50 million. As co-host of Talking W, Seven's AFLW answer to the now defunct Talking Footy, McCarthy says there are more important markers of sporting success than money. 'When you invest in something, you invest in it for the long run,' she says. 'If you sit back and think of the impact that women's football has had, it's been far greater than the financial returns … If you look at it holistically, that it's here to stay – and the AFL have been very strong in their discussions about that – it's got huge momentum.' Launched last year to plug a gap in longer-form AFLW analysis, Talking W covers the 10th AFLW season with a different line-up. McCarthy's original co-host, former Adelaide player and Australian Survivor contestant Abbey Holmes, is taking a break after the birth of her baby in June. In her place is former Fox Footy reporter Riley Beveridge. 'We wanted to have a show that was covering the women's side of things and to be able to analyse and critique, or talk about the positives of women's football and AFLW because there hadn't been a lot of coverage from these sorts of shows on networks,' says McCarthy. 'We have plenty of football shows dedicated to men's football, and Seven was really keen on having one that was dedicated to women's football as well. To be able to build on what we created last year is going to be important.' In a sign of the continuing evolution of TV footy chat, which has been steadily moving away from male-dominated formats, Seven's footy show slate has shifted this year. Instead of Talking Footy, there are two new shows: The Agenda Setters (with Craig Hutchison, Kane Cornes, Caroline Wilson and Nick Riewoldt) on Mondays and Tuesdays on 7plus, and Hamish McLaren's Unfiltered on Wednesdays on Seven. The latter follows the decade-old Front Bar at 8.30pm, with Mick Molloy, Sam Pang and Andy Maher. 'I've only worked in really respectful environments,' says McCarthy. 'The men or women that I've worked with have done it in a way where there hasn't really been any of that locker room talk, or talk where it would be not accepted. We've moved past that now as a footballing community.' McCarthy also welcomes the perspective her new co-host Beveridge will bring. 'We have done the round so far together on and Riley is a fantastic analyst and very well versed across both men's and women's football, and has been since season one of women's football,' she says. 'So it's going to be great to be alongside him … It's important to have diverse voices.'
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Marrickville isn't western Sydney': Calls for AFLW Giants to return to the west
'We're obviously the team for western Sydney, but I think particularly in the 'W' space, because we were the first team in Sydney … we really were born out of being the team for all of NSW and the ACT,' she said. 'So, we were really happy to take our games to wherever we could to really grow the game.' The power of sport Sydney's western suburbs are sports mad: for four years now, hundreds of Penrith Panthers fans have flocked to the local leagues club to celebrate the team's grand final wins. When Matildas mania broke out in 2023 during the Women's World Cup, Parramatta Square turned into a live site to host thousands of western Sydney supporters. Girls' soccer enrolments increased following the Matildas' success, and although the GWS Giants AFLW team are yet to have their major sporting moment, the impact the sport can have on young girls in western Sydney is undeniable, said Western Sydney University health and physical education associate professor Emma George. Loading '[Western Sydney] seems like a great place to be trying to establish a team and to really try to build that fan engagement network,' she said. 'But when you're not playing any local fixtures, it means that fewer girls are able to see AFL in action, which then means that they're not … seeing those role models, and potentially not aspiring to participate in AFL or go into careers in AFL.' That struggle is already being reflected at a grassroots level in western Sydney: some clubs have been forced to form alliances with others due to declining enrolments and others have closed their doors or been unable to field AFL teams. Bunting, who wants the GWS Giants to return to his council electorate of Blacktown, said western Sydney AFLW games could play a significant role in increasing local club numbers, especially for girls. 'I think AFL still in Blacktown is struggling to get good numbers. If we had a home side that was calling Blacktown home, I definitely think it would encourage more people to take it up,' he said. '[It] definitely would bring back, I think, a lot more grassroots sport.' Many feel the locations for the 2025 women's competition act as a barrier for western Sydney fans, with a costly and long commute deterring fans from showing up and supporting the club at games. Loading 'If you're coming from Penrith or Blacktown, if you drive in, then you've obviously got the tolls on the M4 and then a cost to park your car there and then drive it back, and the fuel used, fuel and time, which obviously can get costly,' said one former representative for a local western Sydney club, who spoke under the condition of anonymity to protect relationships with the AFL. In July, The Age reported the women's competition, which has now entered its 10th season, faces diminishing TV audiences and crowd numbers. Data compiled by Austadiums revealed the number of attendees at the two Blacktown AFLW games in 2023 was 1051 and 927, the lowest crowd numbers recorded that season. Zell said the Giants always knew building up AFL in western Sydney, considered by many to be the heartland of rugby league, was going to be a 'generational project'. But while western Sydney may be missed from this year's AFLW fixtures, the Giants still remain active outside of game day in the west. Community engagement programs, such as sports clinics for girls and AFLW players visiting western Sydney clubs, are helping to build up the sport in the western suburbs, Zell says. A female academy, established in 2020, is also seeking to develop further talent. 'I think [community engagement] is really important for us as a club, and it's something that the players take to heart,' she said. 'Particularly in 'W' where we know the competition is not as advanced, not as historic as AFL, so the players are really invested in being able to grow the game themselves and be part of that.'
