With the announcement of the marquee players for each of the eight teams, The Women’s Football League (WFL) is really beginning to take shape.
With an even disbursement of Victorian and interstate teams and players, The AFL is creating a truly national competition, counteracting the long held criticism that the AFL is too Victoria-centric.
In doing so, the AFL is showing that they are creating a new and improved league, free from all the inefficiencies formed by the AFL’s organic evolution. An AFL 2.0; a Footy Utopia; Footopia if you will.
They are shaping the WFL in the image of what the AFL could have been, had it been planned ahead of time. And with this they have the perfect opportunity to bring back an old favourite – State Of Origin.
As we all know, a proper AFL State Of Origin series hasn’t been played since 1999. Due to the emergence of a national situation and the heightened emphasis on a premiership, the tradition died. But the rivalries have remained.
South Australians still hate the Victorians, Western Australians still hate the Victorians, the Allied States still hate the Victorians.
The rivalries are as strong as ever and we’re all looking for a release. Finally, after 17 years of darkness, our golden opportunity has arisen for our prodigal son to return. The WFL is a league of opportunity and provides an answer for all the excuses given for the AFL’s refusal to revive this great tradition.
Here’s a breakdown of the excuses that the AFL has given us, and an explanation of how the WFL doesn’t have to adhere to them.
There is no room in the AFL calendar
The WFL season is going to be an eight-week fixture played during February-March. This is only the inaugural season, with scope to increase the league as popularity and fan-bases grow.
By creating a new league with clear plans to grow, the AFL have the opportunity to easily make changes to the fixture in order to factor in a major event during the season.
Although the WFL Season is unlikely to have a bye round, one could easily be added for a State Of Origin match.
An extension from eight weeks to nine is not a particularly radical one. This means that it would be a simple addition to the footy calendar that would fit in easily.
Too much emphasis on premierships
The growth of premierships as the ultimate prize is primarily what spelled the end for State of Origin.
As teams were blinded by their pursuit of the Premiership Cup, players were less willing to risk an injury in an Origin game.
The Women’s League has not yet seen this problem, and this is a second chance at saving State of Origin.
If they ensure its importance, the AFL can save the Women’s league from the tragedy that was the cancellation of State of Origin. By learning from the NRL model, the Women’s Football League can create an environment in which players covet both a premiership and an Origin selection.
The clubs won’t allow it
Ever since AFL football became more professional, clubs have opposed All Star games as they are just another opportunity for players to injure themselves.
Although a warranted concern, they are no more likely to be injured than in any other game of football at that point in the season.
The issue often arose as the game was often played during a bye round or at the end of the season. Given the rigorous and lengthy season of the AFL, this meant that players were often tired and were denied the rest that they required.
In 2015, Brisbane Lions legend Jonathan Brown told Fox Sports of his coach’s anger when he captained Victoria with a small injury in the 2008 Hall Of Fame Tribute game. Given the need to perform at a high level for such a length of time, this is understandable.
However, the WFL would not see this issue. With only an eight-week schedule, the women playing would not have experienced the same wear and tear as the men. As a result, their bodies will be more capable of withstanding the rigour of one more game, without impacting their ability to recover otherwise.
There are too many states
For the inaugural season, the WFL has eight teams. Four in Victoria, and four interstate. This strikes a natural balance between the two.
By forming a set of two teams similar to the current EJ Whitten All Star Game format, the WFL would be able to create a match-up between the Victorians and the others.
Although it would not carry the ferocity of the traditional South Australia–Western Australia–Victoria games, it would still be a showcase of the best players in the league, a spectacle of the talent that the league has.
Eventually the interstate fans would begin to cheer as one as their team faced off against the football heartland of Victoria and a natural rivalry would grow.
Victoria has a population advantage
When looking at the newly announced WFL marquee players, we see eight Western Australians, Seven Victorians, and a Queenslander.
This sets up a relatively even distribution of elite marquee players across the two teams. This is a perfect platform on which the WFL State Of Origin can build.
Due to the semi-professional nature of the league’s first season, there will likely be an emphasis on recruiting in-state talent.
This will create a wealth of interstate players to select from, while also providing Victorian players with ample opportunity to gain selection.
As a result, both the Victorian and the interstate team would have relatively equal talent pools from which to choose, creating a balanced contest between the two.
The AFL doesn’t respect the Origin tradition like the NRL does
Although the AFL pioneered State of Origin in Australia, its subsequent removal has killed the tradition. However, the rivalry remains, as does the sense of pride that players hold when representing their home state.
Many of the women competing in the competition next year will have represented their home state in national carnivals and so its importance will be far from lost on them, There is also no doubt that the interstate fans will jump on the anti-Victoria wagon and vice versa.
There are already enough representative games
As the WFL is in its Infancy as a league, the AFL has not made any indication of a potential all-star game, let alone one of international standing.
Although Ireland has a Women’s Gaelic Football League, the AFL has not shown plans to create a similar series.
An All Star Game is not a necessity, but if you can have one, why not? By creating an Origin game, the players in the WFL are given equal opportunity to be recognised as the male players, while maintaining a level of individuality.
It acts as a perfect metaphor for the WFL’s goal of being equal to the AFL but also its own independent entity.
A State Of Origin game would bring a great extra level to this new league that we can all enjoy. Not only does the WFL avoid the obvious roadblocks, but this game could even have upsides.
As we’ve seen with the NRL, it could bring in new revenue which could support the league in its fledgling seasons. With such obvious upside, and no clear downsides, there’s no reason not to bring Origin back to Australian rules.
This is the AFL’s best opportunity to reignite this great tradition. This Women’s Football League is a league of opportunity, and it is the perfect time for the AFL to feed the rivalries that football was once built on.
There has never been a better time to bring Origin back. So how about it AFL, why not give us back our game?
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