AFL State of Origin Returns After 27 Years: WA vs Victoria Sells Out Optus Stadium

AFL State of Origin. This Friday night. Twenty-seven years in the making.

Western Australia versus Victoria at Optus Stadium. All 60,000 tickets gone — sold out by January 19. The first State of Origin match since the concept was shelved after the 1999 series. The revival has captured the imagination of the entire country. Demand for tickets far exceeded supply. General admission gone within hours. Corporate packages followed. By the third week of January, not a seat left.

A Historic Occasion

The last time two states met under the Origin banner, Wayne Carey, James Hird, and Glen Jakovich were the headline acts. Now a new generation writes its own chapter. Kick-off is scheduled for 4:40pm AWST (7:40pm AEDT) — prime-time on the east coast, live on free-to-air television.

Both squads are confirmed. Selectors on each side have assembled their strongest possible line-ups from the pre-season window. WA’s squad is headlined by Fremantle and West Coast listed players, supplemented by WA-born stars at Victorian clubs. Victoria’s squad, as expected, is stacked.

Motlop’s Season Over Before It Begins

Devastating news for Carlton. Jesse Motlop has been ruled out for the entire 2026 season — torn ACL sustained in training. Done. The 22-year-old was coming off a breakout 2025 campaign and had been tipped for a significant role in Carlton’s forward line. He will undergo a reconstruction and face nine to twelve months of rehabilitation.

Carlton football manager Daniel Matheson confirmed the news. The club is devastated but confident Motlop will return stronger. He misses everything — State of Origin, the full home-and-away season, and any finals campaign.

AAMI Community Series on the Horizon

The broader AFL pre-season continues to build. The AAMI Community Series runs February 25 through March 1 — all 18 clubs fine-tuning game plans, trialling new structures, and giving young players senior-level exposure before the round one opener on March 5.

Clubs are using the extended pre-season to bed in new recruits after a busy trade and free agency window. Several high-profile movers pull on new guernseys for the first time during the Community Series. That adds genuine intrigue to what is traditionally a low-key