Issue that ‘p***ed off’ Vic the most; how new rule could expose stars — Origin Talking Pts

It’s clear: Players want more AFL Origin games … although there was one sour note. Plus the curious glimpse into the new rules and the stories behind two medal winners.

Read on for the biggest Talking Points from the return of AFL Origin!

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HERE TO STAY: MOMENT ‘EVERYONE BOUGHT IN’ TO ORIGIN

There was a quiver early in proceedings, but make no mistake – AFL Origin is alive and well after a Saturday night nailbiter at Optus Stadium.

The players’ intensity was evident from the opening ball-up, with Western Australia firing early before Victoria settled – before the Black Swans again cracked in for a fourth-quarter push that fell four goals short.

And there was plenty of feeling on both sides, with no shortage of scuffles – and chief irritants Toby Greene and Zak Butters at the forefront.

The sour point was clearly the injury suffered by Carlton’s Jacob Weitering in the first quarter. But unfortunately, like it or not, injuries are still going to happen – even in Origin.

Simply, no matter how serious or not Weitering’s injury ends up being, it should not deter the league’s powerbrokers from making Origin an annual feature.

As Geelong star Tom Stewart told foxfooty.com.au post-match: “Unfortunately, our game is violent – it’s a part of what it is.”

He added: “It really almost solidified the way we were going about it; no one was holding back. Everyone was having a red-hot crack.”

And the naysayers will be quiet tonight. Because despite it being February and not representing their AFL clubs, there were too many moments to count that exemplified just how seriously the players took the cause.

From hard hits to hard-ball gets to gut-busting runs up and down the ground, it was right there for all to see.

Victorian star Bailey Smith revealed that while players were told they were “only meant to play 70 per cent” on Saturday night due to minutes restrictions, “it was a hard 70 per cent” – adding he and his teammates were peeved by talk of players not going their hardest.

“I don’t know why all that talk (happened), that was the one thing that probably pissed us all off during the week,” he said on Fox Footy.

“Obviously it’s the real deal. When you put the boots on, go out there, there’s no half-arseing it. So, yeah, we did that.”

Going in, most were of the belief the Sandgropers were comprehensively outmatched all over the field – yet that they also had to be competitive against the Victorians for more frequent Origin matches to be feasible.

Well, the hosts, who once trailed by as much as five goals, clawed back to within a goal midway through the final term – which Fox Footy caller Adam Papalia believed was a landmark launch moment.

“It was the feeling that was within the stadium in that last quarter as WA got it back to within six points,” Papalia said post-match.

“That was where you felt that the concept was certainly working and everyone was buying in, and the fans were certainly right behind it.”

Victoria and Western Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli echoed the consensus sentiment post-game.

“We hope this is the start of something,” he said on Fox Footy.

“We wore that like a badge of honour. We wore our jumpers with pride, and as an opportunity to set this thing up for real, and to last, from a longevity perspective.

“I understand it went away for a period of time for different reasons, but … the players want to do this, and the players I think went all in on this one.”

There’s been conversation around whether Origin is better served as a once-every-three-years event or an annual one, and while Victoria chairman of selectors and Fox Footy analyst Garry Lyon conceded he initially wasn’t sure it could be an annual celebration, he said Saturday night changed his mind.

“I always thought that probably every second year initially, but I think tonight presents a fantastic case to do exactly that (playing every year),” he said.

‘GOT TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING’: HOW NEW RULE EXPOSES RUCKS

Not only did we get a first look at some of the game’s biggest star players on Saturday, we also saw a glimpse of how some of the new rules and tweaks will impact the 2026 season.

The AFL, led by football operations boss Greg Swann, has introduced seven rule changes for the season, all with the goal of reducing match lengths by about three minutes.

These include a last disposal rule, shorter kick-in times, new contest laws at the centre ball-up – it’s weird not writing ‘centre bounce’ anymore – and a stricter interpretation around players standing in the protected area.

The new centre ball-up rules were the most striking during Saturday night’s game.

Rucks in 2026 are now unable to cross the centre line before engaging with their opposition ruck. This is because Swann and the AFL want to see the jumping rucks return to the game.

And that was on full display at Optus Stadium.

“It’s brought back different types of ruckmen into the game,” four-time premiership Hawk Jason Dunstall told Fox Footy.

“I think we’re going to see clubs throughout the 2026 season perhaps have a couple of ruckmen, given you’ve got the five on the bench now. You need a jumping ruckman, as well as that big bull.

“I think we’ll see some tandem set-up for a lot of clubs thinking they can get an advantage.”

Triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown added: “This is a great sign for the future of the game and hopefully his trend continues throughout the year.”

Victoria ruck and Melbourne skipper Max Gawn – an eight-time All-Australian ruck – said he was getting “heavily pinged at training” recently as he continued to adjust to the new rule.

Gawn conceded he might have to adjust his rucking style.

“(WA ruck) Darcy Cameron threw up a few different things, I threw up a few different things. It really was just a test case for us,” Gawn told Fox Footy

“There’s going to be a lot of jumping (in 2026). I think some of the guys who can jump are really going to excel and some of the older guys, like me, are potentially going to have to come up a different way. There’s a few guys like myself, Jarrod Witts, Reilly O’Brien, Darcy Cameron, Darcy Fort – some guys who have been around for a while who don’t necessarily jump as high as Tom De Koning. So we’ve got to come up with something.”

Elsewhere, Brown said the quicker kick-in time – cut from 12 seconds to eight seconds of ‘reasonable time’ “benefited Victoria” the most, with the visitors scoring heavily out of their defensive half throughout the night.

And while not many last disposal rule free kicks were paid on Saturday night, Brown said it was a “good rule” that “helps speed the game up a little bit”.

“Greg Swann has come in with a mandate to try and trim some game time off, because the game was just getting too long,” Brown told Fox Footy.

“So keep the game in flow … When the ball is flowing in our game, for the last 150 years, that’s what the fans want.”

EJ Whitten Medallist Lachie Ash said the new rule “makes it clearer for players”.

“You know straight away, for me behind the ball you just set up straight away knowing that it’s a free kick to the opposition,” he told reporters post-match.

“It takes the confusion out of that one a little bit.”

Victoria coach Chris Scott added: “The change to the insufficient intent rule just makes it black and white – even if you’re a bit unlucky it becomes clearer and easier for the umpires. I think that’s a good one.”

‘WHAT WE ALL FEARED’: BLUES STAR IN BRUTAL ORIGIN SOUR NOTE

But for all the good there was in Origin, it took less than half an hour for the first major injury, with star Carlton defender Jacob Weitering going down heavily in the first quarter.

Weitering, who has since been hospitalised with rib and shoulder injuries, was crushed under the bodies of Western Australia’s Mitch Georgiades and Victorian teammate Sam Collins after a marking contest at half-forward.

It was a brutal marking contest which, in itself, encapsulated both sides’ commitment to the cause.

In immediate reaction on the Fox Footy broadcast, caller Anthony Hudson said what everyone was thinking: “It’s what we all feared.”

Carlton on Saturday night said it’d be able to provide “a further and more accurate update” on Weitering’s condition on Sunday.

“Jacob is continuing to undergo all necessary assessments in hospital as a precaution,” a Blues statement read.

“For now, though, we can tell you that he is currently in good spirits and surrounded by family. Sending all the love to our No.23.”

Victoria coach Chris Scott later conveyed the severity of the situation in his post-match press conference, saying: “Our understanding is it’s serious enough that you need to be updated on it — he’s going to miss a period of time, I’d think.”

Play between the two sides was halted for several minutes while the 28-year-old gun interceptor was tended to by medical staff.

Weitering was placed in a neck brace while being stretchered off the field, with initial fears of a concussion and possible neck injury.

However, it was confirmed in the second quarter that Weitering’s shoulder and ribs were the main concerns – having been hospitalised as a precaution.

Fox Footy’s Kath Loughnan said boundary-side: “It was nearly probably 200 kilos falling on him and that left shoulder and his head. So, fingers crossed for Jacob Weitering.”

Victoria chairman of selectors and Fox Footy analyst Garry Lyon provided a half-time update, also adding the symbolic nature of the incident.

“Jacob Weitering we hope is going to be OK, he was in the hospital asking about the scores, so I think it’s precautionary, but it puts to rest any notion that these boys weren’t going to go flat-out,” he said.

The 204-game All-Australian has been a durable commodity for the Blues in recent years, playing 22 or more games in four of the past five seasons.

Carlton kicks off its 2026 campaign against Richmond at the MCG on March 12.

STAR’S SHOCK AT MEDAL WIN … AND WHY COACHES FELT HE WAS BEST

Just two days ago, Giants star Lachie Ash feared he didn’t deserve to be in the Victorian State team.

“I thought there might have been a couple in front of me … I sat there and thought, ‘I won’t be picked for that’ so I didn’t worry about it much,” he shared.

But on Saturday night, he was awarded the prestigious EJ Whitten Medal for best on ground for the Big V.

It was a unanimous decision by the Victorian coaches, including Chris Scott, Garry Lyon, Shaun Grigg and Sam Mitchell to name Ash ahead of their star-studded midfield that included an AFL MVP, a Brownlow Medallist and plenty of All Australians/club best and fairests.

“I was actually a little bit nervous coming over this week – whether or not I belonged,” he said.

“You look at the names on the team sheet and they’ve been really good players for a long period of time or they are stars of our competition. Probably doubted myself about whether I was up to it or not.

“I’m here for a reason – that was part of (Scott’s) message.

“Whether or not I was the best player on ground or not, I really took a lot of confidence out of the whole week. Really proven to myself that I belong here. And I’ll take it back to club level.”

Scott could only laugh as he heard Ash talk about his growing confidence.

“Don’t get any better. The Cats are having enough trouble with GWS,” he joked.

Ash replied: “I’ll just use a bit of motivation to prove it’s not just a one-off game. That I’ve gotten better over the summer. And I can go and show that for 25 weeks this year”, to which Scott said: “Scary thought”.

The Victorian coach was adamant Ash belonged alongside the biggest names in the game.

“We had Lachie in a group with (Nick) Daicos, (Zak) Butters and (Marcus) Bontempelli,” he said.

“In the end, we thought when the game was really hot and we were really under pressure that Lachie was the most influential.

“I think Lachie is the best running back in the game – or close enough to it, and I don’t think he felt that coming in.”

Ash finished his Origin debut with 25 disposals – nine of those intercepts and seven score involvements, almost 500m gained and seven marks.

Speaking after his medal win, Ash paid tribute to his parents who were able to take time from their busy orchard picking season to be in the stands in Perth.

“Mum and Dad have been there from day one. Dad’s been pretty big in my footy journey – he was my sounding board growing up, still is today,” he shared.

“Talking to him this morning like ‘What do you think? What have you got for me?’

“Most mornings of the game we’ll have a chat just around the game and what not.

“For them to come over, it was pretty massive for Dad. He’s pretty busy at the moment.”

‘CHANCE I WASN’T GOING TO PLAY’: HOGAN’S INJURY REVEAL

He was WA’s Graham Moss Medallist for best on ground in AFL’s Origin match, but star Jesse Hogan has revealed he almost didn’t make it onto the field.

After battling a foot issue that derailed the end of his 2025 season with the Giants, Hogan went under the knife at the end of last year.

He didn’t start running until mid-December and only joined full training two weeks ago in the lead up to Saturday’s contest.

“There was probably two or three weeks where there was a chance I probably wasn’t going to play this game to be honest,” he shared.

“My load management stuff is all managed … we pushed the envelope to get here.”

Despite his “pretty limited” lead in, Hogan was WA’s best with a game-high five goals – including three in a nine-minute final quarter blitz that brought the home side within six points of Victoria.

The Giants could only laugh at just how well he did perform, after coming in low on confidence.

“This is actually probably the best game I’ve played at Optus – and I spent two years playing at Freo!” he smiled.

“It’s an interesting path I’ve had – it’s been well documented.

“I’m really started to enjoy my football over in Sydney. I probably had to step away and strip it back to just enjoy football again.

“I just started doing full training two weeks ago and we did match sim quarters – I actually haven’t touched it once!

“I came into this game with not a lot of confidence.

“Sam Taylor’s had my number!

“I honestly don’t think I’ve ouched it in two and half/three weeks. I was a bit nervous coming in.”

But those nerves didn’t show as Hogan led a WA forward line that missed Port’s Mitch Georgiades after half time due to hamstring awareness.

Hogan finished the Origin match with 13 disposals, nine marks and 5.0.