All-time greats named coaches of Victoria and Western Australia for return of State of Origin
FremantleeFremantleeThe AFL has announced the coaches for Victoria and Western Australia, with State of Origin set to return for the first time since 1999 next year.
Geelong coach Chris Scott is set to helm the Victorian side, while Sydney coach Dean Cox will take control of WA.
Cox hails from Dampier in WA and is one of West Coast's greatest ever players.
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Scott meanwhile won three premierships with Brisbane, but was born in Melbourne and has coached Geelong since 2011.
Chris Scott, Senior Coach of the Cats looks on during the AFL Grand Final via Getty Images
He is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the AFL, having won two premierships with the Cats and led the side to four grand finals.
Cox won the job over Fremantle mentor Justin Longmuir, the other WA-born current coach.
The match is set to take place on February 14th at Perth's Optus Stadium, with the marquee event finding a home in the pre-season.
It will be the first time Victoria and Western Australia have met in a State of Origin game since 1992.
But they were the clear choices for the return of representative football, with W.A clearly surpassing South Australia in terms of talent currently in the league.
Though there's no stopping the AFL from bringing the rest of the country into the State of Origin equation in future years, if 2026 is a success.
The appointment of two current coaches goes against the current trend in the NRL counterpart, where both the NSWRL and QRL oppose the appointment of current coaches for New South Wales and Queensland to avoid conflicts of interest.
In that case however, the NRL's Origin matches take place during the season.
Sydney coach Dean Cox. via Getty Images
The AFL has announced that both coaches will soon appoint a chairman of selectors and a selection committee to help them put together their respective squads.
Importantly, eligibility will be determined by the junior club location where the player was drafted from.
Melbourne star Kysaiah Pickett, who was born in South Australia, raised in Western Australia, but was drafted out of Woodville-West Torrens won't be eligible for the W.A side given these rules.
Picking the Victorian team looms as a nightmare for the selectors, though the size of the respective squads is yet to be determined.
Even just looking at the midfield, the likes of Marcus Bontempelli, Nick Daicos, Zach Merrett, Zak Butters, Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson, Christian Petracca, Caleb Serong, Will Ashcroft, Hugh McCluggage, Sam Walsh, Bailey Smith and Harry Sheezel among those eligible.
For WA, it will include stars like Carlton captain Patrick Cripps, Sydney midfielder Chad Warner, Fremantle ruckman Luke Jackson, GWS key forward Jesse Hogan and Brisbane forward Charlie Cameron.
