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Monday, 21 July 2008

AFL State of Origin ready to return?

13/05/2008 9:22:00 AM.  | AAP
Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett says the AFL Hall of Fame game was "more like touch football than real football" and believes true State of Origin should be revived if representative games are reintroduced permanently.

As players continued to call for representative football on an ongoing basis, Victorian assistant coach and AFL ambassador Kevin Sheedy also said he would prefer state-versus-state games.

Kennett said his ideal scenario would be an interstate carnival the week after the grand final, with teams representing all states, as well as possibly an indigenous side.

"I think there'd be a lot more passion," Kennett said.

"You could share it around the country so that ... you could have one (match) in Western Australia and you could have one in Adelaide.

"You wouldn't be able to cover all states every year, but you could rotate them, so I think to do it properly you'd need it to be an annual event."

Kennett felt the concept of the Dream Team - made up from the best non-Victorian players - which lost to Victoria in Saturday night's one-off clash at the MCG, engendered little passion.

"I felt it was a bit more like touch football than real football, up until perhaps the last 10 minutes when there was a bit of vigour and passion," he said.

Kennett suggested a carnival involving all AFL states, including Tasmania, possibly along with an indigenous side, playing a series of shortened knockout games ahead of a full length final.

Sheedy also called for a return to regular State of Origin, although on a rotational basis.

"I'd play probably (Victoria versus) South Australia in two years' time, that's my personal view and then probably WA after that in another two years," Sheedy told SEN radio.

"Then maybe Victoria versus the rest of Australia to give the other players an opportunity."

Sheedy said it was up to the players involved to convince the sceptical AFL hierarchy that the concept of representative football should be continued.

But Adelaide and Dream Team player Brett Burton said there was no lack of passion among the composite team.

"From my point of view there was certainly burning desire and passion to play for the Dream Team guernsey, simply for the fact that I hate Victorians, and that was what most of it was born out of," Burton said.

"We were shattered after the game, we felt we had an opportunity and didn't take it."

Burton wanted to see a representative match staged about once every four years.

"If you do it every three, four or five years, it means you get players who really want to be involved because then they only get the opportunity once or twice in their career," he said.

The idea of a four-year cycle was also backed by Victorian captain Jonathan Brown.

"Last week I was one of the guys fighting injury (to play) but if you had to go through that emotional commitment every year, players might not give it everything to get up for the game," Brown said.

"But if it was only once every three or four years - like the Olympics - players would do more to get up for it."

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