$5 million? How much has WA paid the AFL for Origin?

State of Origin is back.

How did you go picking your team for the February 14 clash at Optus Stadium? I will leave the Victorian team to the Vics – suffice to say the midfield is awesome and they have to find a way to jam as many of Bontempelli, Daicos, Rowell, Anderson, Butters, Serong, McLuggage and others into their team.

What I can say is that if the West Australians can hold up in the midfield – they are going to have the firepower at either end to trouble the Vics. They have the league’s best lockdown defender Sam Taylor at the back. They have small defenders with All-Australian pedigree like Jordan Clark and Brandon Starcevich on ground level.

At the other end Jesse Hogan, Aaron Naughton, Mitch Georgiades are potent in the air – so potent that Jake Waterman might not even get a game despite being a 2024 All-Australian. At ground level Shai Bolton, Kozzie Pickett, Bobby Hill are either Norm Smith Medallists or All Australians.

While the criteria for what will constitute a West Aussie for the purposes of this match are yet to be finalised. I confidently predict the criteria will be crafted so that Pickett comes down on the west side of the Nullarbor for the 2026 State of Origin clash.

So for better or worse – here is my WA State of Origin team:

B: Brandon Starcevich, Sam Taylor, Trent Rivers
HB: Jordan Clark, Tom Barrass, Wil Powell
C: Liam Baker, Paddy Cripps, Daniel Curtin
HF: Kysaiah Pickett, Aaron Naughton, Bobby Hill
F: Shai Bolton, Jesse Hogan, Mitch Georgiades
Followers: Tim English, Luke Jackson, Chad Warner

Interchange from: Darcy Cameron, Reuben Ginbey, Stephen Coniglio, Elliot Yeo, Callum Ah Chee, Shannon Neale, Cam Zurhaar, Nathan Broad, Brady Hough, Liam Ryan, Heath Chapman, Jake Waterman.

The reality in this State of Origin game is that the future of the entire concept will hinge on the success – not just of the first game but also on the second and third – whenever they occur.

If the first one is close or if the Sandgropers win, you can bet on there being a second. If the Vics give us a good old fashioned thrashing – and there were a few of those over the decades in the 20th century as well as the handful of victories we love to remember in the late seventies and 1980s – then this is going to die a very quick death.

If it works – will the South Australians want in? And if they do want in, what is the trade off for WA given that this game is a bit of a trade off for Gather Round.

The Government won’t say what it is paying the AFL to bring the game here but given that we pay multi million dollar fees for Bledisloe Cup games and Rugby League Origin matches then you can bet this is a seven figure sum – it could easily be in the realm of $5m.

Tourism WA estimates that around 8,000 Vics will make the trip to WA for the game – and some will hang around to take in our blue sky, sun and beaches in February – then that is likely to inject around $20 million into our economy.

Just a sting in the tale for the league on this one – if we have to pay for this – why shouldn’t the Victorian Government pay for the privilege of hosting the Grand Final when the game has been estimated to inject close to 100 million into the Victorian economy.

Let’s say we charged the Vic $30m for the honour. It would buy a lot of junior development for both the men's and women’s game wouldn’t it?