Star-studded midfield squeeze; WA’s scary attack — Predicted AFL Origin teams

AFL State of Origin is back! Well, sort of.

It’s been confirmed that AFL Origin will return in 2026 for the first time since 1999, with Victoria to face off with Western Australia in Perth on February 14.

And foxfooty.com.au has put together predicted sides from both states in anticipation for the exhibition game.

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It wasn’t an easy task.

For starters, picking Victoria’s star-studded midfield is damn near impossible.

Max Gawn got the honours in the ruck, with the eight-time All-Australian to palm the ball down to Nick Daicos, Marcus Bontempelli and Zak Butters.

A pretty handy quartet.

That meant Gold Coast pair Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson and Caleb Serong got gigs on the bench, while fellow Docker Andrew Brayshaw, Josh Dunkley and Zach Merrett all missed the 22 entirely.

The on-ballers are well supported by star Hugh McCluggage and Max Holmes on the wings. Holmes’ fellow ‘Dash Brother’, Bailey Smith, sits on the half-forward flank.

Further down the field, Jacob Weitering and Darcy Moore hold down the key position posts.

Western Bulldogs pair Bailey Dailey and Ed Richards virtually pick themselves back there, so too Lachie Whitfield, who would have to be the best half back flanker of the modern era.

And we went with Nick Vlasutin in defence over Josh Battle, despite the Hawk’s brilliant All-Australian season. In fact, no Hawthorn players made our Victorian side (apologies, Dylan Moore).

It’s been a tough 12 months for Charlie Curnow, but the dual Coleman medallist still leads out forward line with Jeremy Cameron. Sam Darcy is a handy ‘third tall’.

Christian Petracca also sits in attack, providing invaluable experience alongside Toby Greene.

Speaking of experience, Patrick Dangerfield earned the captaincy as the perfect leader for the ‘Big V’.

As for Western Australia, there’s three genuine ruck options — Darcy Cameron, Luke Jackson and Tim English.

Cameron got the starting role after two brilliant seasons, while he’s joined on the ball by Jackson, Patrick Cripps, the captain of the side, and Chad Warner.

Good luck scoring against a defensive spine of Sam Taylor and Tom Barrass. Plus great all-round versatility with Jordan Clark, Brandon Starcevich, Trent Rivers and Wil Powell.

Stephen Coniglio and Elliot Yeo both got spots as romantic selections, despite a rough recent run of injuries.

The WA forward line is perhaps its biggest point of difference, with weapons everywhere that would cause nightmares for the Vics.

It’s spearheaded by Jesse Hogan, Aaron Naughton and Mitch Georgiades, with smalls Shai Bolton, Kysaiah Pickett and Bobby Hill ready to pounce at ground level.

We went with Shannon Neale as a backup key forward option instead of the likes of Oscar Allen, Jake Waterman and Jye Amiss.

Charlie Cameron and Daniel Rioli didn’t feature despite having ties to WA, so depending on the eligibility criteria, they could be two names to watch.

Check out the predicted sides from both states in full below.

VICTORIA

B: Nick Vlastuin, Jacob Weitering, Bailey Dale

HB: Lachie Whitfield, Darcy Moore, Ed Richards

C: Hugh McCluggage, Nick Daicos, Max Holmes

HF: Bailey Smith, Jeremy Cameron, Christian Petracca

F: Sam Darcy, Charlie Curnow, Toby Greene

FOLL: Max Gawn, Zak Butters, Marcus Bontempelli

I/C: Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson, Caleb Serong, Patrick Dangerfield (c)

Missed out: Josh Dunkley, Josh Daicos, Zach Merrett, Andrew Brayshaw, Tom Stewart, Gryan Miers, Sam Collins, Dylan Moore, James Sicily, Josh Battle, Tristan Xerri, Harry Sheezel, Jack Sinclair

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

B: Brandon Starcevich, Sam Taylor, Jordan Clark

HB: Trent Rivers, Tom Barrass, Wil Powell

C: Stephen Coniglio, Chad Warner, Liam Baker

HF: Shai Bolton, Jesse Hogan, Kysaiah Pickett

F: Mitch Georgiades, Aaron Naughton, Bobby Hill

FOLL: Darcy Cameron, Patrick Cripps (c), Luke Jackson

I/C: Tim English, Shannon Neale, Elliot Yeo, Daniel Curtin

Missed out: Callum Ah Chee, Nic Martin (injured), Jye Amiss, Darcy Jones (injured), Judd McVee, Cam Zurhaar, Nathan Broad, Brad Hill, Logan McDonald, Brady Hough, Jake Waterman, Liam Ryan, Oscar Allen, Reuben Ginbey