| 2026 AFL Origin | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 14 February 2026 | |||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Optus Stadium | |||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 58,141 | |||||||||||||||
| Favourite | Victoria | |||||||||||||||
The2026 AFL Origin match was anAustralian rules football match held in accordance withState of Origin selection criteria between tworepresentative sides organised by theAustralian Football League (AFL).
It was played on 14 February 2026 atOptus Stadium inPerth, betweenWestern Australia andVictoria. The match, which was organised in partnership with theWest Australian government, was Western Australia's first appearance in a state of origin match since 1998, Victoria's first since 2020, and the first match between the two states since 1992.[1]
Attended by a sold-out crowd of 58,141 spectators, the contest was won by Victoria by 24 points.[2] The success of the match, in terms of player participation and spectator interest, led to calls to make representative football an annual occasion at the start of each AFL season.[3]
The AFL staggered the names of players selected for the two teams over the off-season. On 14 November 2025, the AFL announced the first group of eight players to compete for the Western Australian and Victorian teams, which included club captainsPatrick Cripps (Western Australia) andMarcus Bontempelli (Victoria).[4]
Players were, in most cases, eligible to play for the state they were drafted from, along with the state they played the majority of their junior football.[5]Brisbane Lions star midfielderWill Ashcroft, despite captaining Victoria at junior level and being drafted from the state, was ruled ineligible for selection due to being part of the league'sGold Coast Suns Academy program.[6][7]Melbourne forwardKysaiah Pickett, who was drafted from theWoodville-West Torrens Football Club in South Australia and did not play his junior football in Western Australia, was selected for Western Australia on the basis that he was predominantly raised inQuairading, and identified as aNoongar man.[8]
Both teams had late withdrawals due to injuries, withBrandon Starcevich withdrawn for Western Australia[9] andJeremy Cameron for Victoria.[10] Guernsey numbers were announced on 9 February 2026, with most players allocated the numbers that they wore at their respective clubs; however, as there were several cases of multiple players wearing the same number, a rule was instigated where if multiple players requested the same number, the deciding factor was the number of games played in that number.[11]
Source:afl.com.au
| 2026 AFL Origin | |||||
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| Saturday, 14 February 4:40 pm (AWST) | Western Australia | def. by | Victoria | Optus Stadium (crowd: 58,141) | [14][15][16] |
| 3.1 (19) 8.4 (52) 11.6 (72) 15.11 (101) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 6.3 (39) 11.8 (74) 15.11 (101) 18.17 (125) | Umpires:Meredith,Meyer,Mollison,Stephens[17] Graham Moss Medal (Western Australia) & E.J. Whitten Medal (Victoria):Jesse Hogan (Western Australia) &Lachie Ash (Victoria) | ||
| Hogan 5 Cameron 3 Waterman,Jackson 2 Warner,Hill,Bolton 1 | Goals | King 4 Merrett,McCluggage,Greene,Dangerfield 2 Xerri,Smith,Serong,Daicos,Butters,Bontempelli 1 | |||
| Hogan, Warner,Barrass, Hill,Baker, Bolton | Best | Daicos, Bontempelli, Serong, King, Butters,Ash,Stewart | |||
| Georgiades (hamstring),Taylor (hamstring),Ah Chee (hamstring) | Injuries | Weitering (shoulder/ribs),Rowell (finger) | |||
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