Clubs support concept but want shorter games and injury compensation

“For us, leadership is a team effort, so having three captains reinforces that philosophy and we are working really hard to build leadership intensity at our football club.

“Those three are our top brand players, good young guys, different personalities, so they bring different strengths to the table.”

AAP

AFL bullish trend may have a permanent spot with shorter quarters

Michael Gleeson
State of Origin should become a permanent part of the football calendar, with AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon calling for representative football played by the game’s best as the first match of each new year.

The AFL deemed the return of State of Origin on Saturday night a success and Dillon said he now wants pre-season games to be played on a rotational basis each year for State of Origin games or the Indigenous All Stars game.

The league wants to hold another State of Origin game before next season, with venues and teams yet to be determined.

“We think there is good momentum right now to build on Saturday night and continue it as a permanent fixture on the football calendar next year and beyond,” Dillon said.

“The players took this opportunity to show that they wanted to play football again and this was reflected in the quality of the game.

“The size of the fans gives us great confidence and the fact that they embraced it so passionately both in the first leg and on Saturday is a big factor.”

There were 58,000 people at Optus Stadium on Saturday night, with an average of more than a million people across the country watching the match on free-to-air and pay-TV services.

“I think we have the right window of time for pre-season to be played. I think having the first game of the season played by the best players in a representative game is a good way for football to return this year,” Dillon said.

Players said they enjoyed the game and wanted it to continue.

“I’d rather play this than a practice match,” Victoria’s Toby Greene said after the match.

Football general managers at some clubs, who did not want to be named, said they supported State of Origin becoming permanent but wanted shorter games of 16- or 18-minute quarters with added time. Shortened games of this length have been played during COVID.

Clubs also wanted to receive early warning about players potentially scheduled to play so they could adjust their pre-season training schedules accordingly. They also wanted better financial security and an easing of the salary cap in case a player gets injured and misses club matches.

“The important thing for us now is to finalize the details of what it will look like in the future. We will work on that with the clubs and the players,” Dillon said.

“My personal opinion is that one match can be played per pre-season. I think the match could be a little shorter, the quarters are 26-27 minutes, not 31-33 minutes.

“In principle, I think there’s an appetite to build on that and capitalize on the momentum we’ve had. We had the Indigenous All Stars game last year and I think you could look at an All Stars game every three years. So there could probably be another State of Origin Game next year and an Indigenous all-stars game the year after that.”

The AFL will look to WA or South Australia to host again next year. Broadcasters are likely to want Victoria to play in any matches because of the extra TV audience she attracts.

Players and fans from NSW, Queensland and Tasmania will want to be involved in State of Origin games but football executives this imprint spoke to described the Allies concept as a flawed compromise and neither of those states would be strong enough to field an independent team at the moment.

The AFL’s football general managers will meet next week with the topic on the agenda. Quarter lengths, player payments, injury pay protection for clubs and salary cap easing if players are injured in state games are among the topics to be discussed.

AFL Players Association chief executive James Gallagher said players wanted Origin to return permanently. The AFLPA reached a one-off agreement with the AFL for this year, but they were happy to negotiate a long-term deal to continue the concept.

The players were each paid a base payment of $20,000 for the game; captains earned more and some other players were paid extra by the WA state government and Tourism WA as “ambassadors”.

“Before the game players thought State of Origin was a place to return to permanently. The conversations I had with the players throughout the week and after the game were extremely positive and reinforced that,” Gallagher said.

“The commitment from the players was fantastic, you could see how keen they were to wear their WA and Victorian jumpers.

“We have worked with the AFL to broker an agreement for this year’s game. We have begun our review with the players. Once completed we will continue to work out the details of this moving forward with the AFL.”

Giants star aims for speedy recovery as GWS injuries mount

GWS midfielder Finn Callaghan is confident of being in time for the opening round after picking up a minor injury in pre-season.

Callaghan will miss the club’s pre-season games against Collingwood and Sydney due to a mild hip flexor strain.

The Giants are already counting the costs of last week’s intra-club game simulation with fellow midfielder Tom Green (ACL) ruled out for the season.

Callaghan, who did not play in last Friday’s simulation, will remain on the sidelines until the club’s opening match against Hawthorn on March 7.

“It’s a bit frustrating. I just felt a bit of tightness in my hip flexors and it didn’t settle there for a few days,” he told AAP.

“It shouldn’t be too bad. I won’t be playing any of the practice matches, but I should be back for the opening round.”

“I would love to play practice matches, but my priority is to make sure I’m ready to go into the opening round against the Hawks.”

Small forward Toby Bedford was also among those killed in the intra-club conflict and would be sidelined for at least five to six weeks with a hamstring problem.

GWS also lost key defender Sam Taylor at the start of the season, who was ruled out of Saturday’s State of Origin clash with “hamstring awareness”.

In a statement, the club said scans on Monday confirmed a “high-grade hamstring strain” and it was “expected to rule him out for the opening rounds of the 2026 season”.

Veteran midfielder Josh Kelly (hip) and forward Darcy Jones (ACL) are not expected to feature until the second half of the season at the earliest.

AAP

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