Clear your Februarys! State of Origin nears return in Perth
The West Australian State government is believed to be working towards a February match at Optus Stadium next year, much like this year's pre-season Indigenous All Stars clash.
Saturday, February 14, is shaping up as the day the fan-favourite fixture makes its return after disappearing at the turn of the millennium.
7NEWS' Mitch Cleary reported on Monday that talks between the WA government and AFL ramped up last week, with final negotiations over costs and profit-sharing to come.
The clash is set to pit the best WA talent in the competition against the best Victorians, meaning the likes of dual premiership Brownlow medallist Patrick Cripps could pull on the Black Swan jumper alongside Chad Warner.
It could also see rising West Coast star Harley Reid don the Big V alongside Andrew Brayshaw, as well as Caleb Serong, and be the enemy of the Optus Stadium crowd.
Momentum for State of Origin football has gathered throughout 2025, with the match likely to be a hot ticket for AFL fans.
State of Origin's inventor, Leon Larkin, backed the game's return last month, suggesting it would be a roaring success if the AFL could get it up.
'Yes, it will work,' Larkin told The West Australian. 'But for different reasons than the original one.
'Australian football players are now full-time professionals, and when you're a professional, you always want to test yourself at the highest level.
'The best athletes in the world have the Olympics, Australian footballers have got nothing. They got this sort of mongrel game with Ireland occasionally, but they haven't got anything else.
'So the way that they can test themselves against the best is to play in something where they are tested at the very highest level.
'You make the All-Australian team and it's fantastic, but it's just a record thing.
'There's no game, is there? There is nowhere to go with that, whereas, if you can at least go up one level from what you're playing, I think that's important.'
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