THE WHISPERS are growing louder that State of Origin and representative football is set for a return.
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon has said that representative football is "something we're working through with our clubs and our players" and that it is "something that I would really like to land".
In anticipation of football's long-forgotten rivalries potentially being renewed again, AFL.com.au will publish a special five-part feature this week to predict what the teams could look like.
The teams – four-state based sides and the Indigenous All Stars – have been picked as though the match would take place with everyone fully fit, with the sides selected based on a combination of current form and standing within the game.
The state boundaries are divided based on which teams each player represented throughout their junior careers at under-18s level, while Indigenous players have been selected for the Indigenous All Stars ahead of their respective state teams.
--- ---
Monday: Our Victorian State of Origin team
Tuesday: Our Indigenous All Stars team
Wednesday: Our Allies State of Origin team
Thursday: Our South Australian State of Origin team
Friday: Our Western Australian State of Origin team
--- ---
IT WAS an entertaining glimpse of what the Indigenous All Stars could produce.
In a sizzling 43-point practice match victory over Fremantle earlier this season, a host of the game's best First Nations players dazzled to mark the Indigenous All Stars' first appearance in a decade.
North Melbourne captain Jy Simpkin claimed the Polly Farmer Medal in that game and spearheads this potential Indigenous All Stars side from the midfield, alongside Adelaide's Izak Rankine and Port Adelaide's Jason Horne-Francis.
Collectively, they would form a fearsome midfield group that would also include rotations from Fremantle's Shai Bolton, Melbourne's Kysaiah Pickett and West Coast's Tim Kelly.
>> SCROLL DOWN TO SEE AFL.COM.AU'S FULL INDIGENOUS ALL STARS SQUAD
The forward line would be the highlight of this Indigenous All Stars team and features Brisbane's premiership hero Charlie Cameron, Collingwood's Norm Smith Medal winner Bobby Hill and Geelong's All-Australian Tyson Stengle.
But the backline is also rock solid and is led by key-position pillars like Fremantle's Alex Pearce and Melbourne's Steven May, as well as the classy facilitators like St Kilda's Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Gold Coast's Daniel Rioli.
Western Bulldogs spearhead Jamarra Ugle-Hagan is picked to lead the line in attack, while the in-form Ben Long forces his way on the bench following a scintillating start to the year with the Suns.
Port Adelaide's Jeremy Finlayson is named in the ruck, despite Saints youngster Isaac Keeler earning a debut earlier this year and West Coast's Coen Livingstone being picked for ruck duties back in February.
Geelong youngster Lawson Humphries, Port Adelaide gun Jase Burgoyne and former Western Bulldogs first-round pick Ryley Sanders just miss out on making the starting 22, but would be closing on earning their spot in the side.
Carlton's Zac Williams, Port Adelaide’s Willie Rioli, Essendon's Jade Gresham and Fremantle's Michael Walters are the more experienced players to miss, highlighting the strength in depth this Indigenous All Stars team possesses.
Ugle-Hagan is perhaps the only genuine key-position target in attack, though Port Adelaide's Sam Powell-Pepper is the next biggest option and also the most likely to put his hand up for secondary ruck duties.
In total, eight of the 18 starters differ from the Indigenous All Stars outfit that was named to take on Fremantle back in February, while five totally new faces come into this All Stars squad of 22.
Indigenous All Stars squad
B: Daniel Rioli, Steven May, Liam Jones
HB: Bradley Hill, Alex Pearce, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera
C: Shai Bolton, Izak Rankine, Karl Amon
HF: Tyson Stengle, Sam Powell-Pepper, Kysaiah Pickett
F: Charlie Cameron, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Bobby Hill
Foll: Jeremy Finlayson, Jy Simpkin, Jason Horne-Francis
I/C: Callum Ah Chee, Ben Long, Jarman Impey, Tim Kelly
Emerg: Keidean Coleman, Zac Williams, Jase Burgoyne, Willie Rioli
Notable others: Wayne Milera, Jesse Motlop, Jade Gresham, Michael Walters, Lawson Humphries, Joel Jeffrey, Toby Bedford, Lachie Jones, Rhyan Mansell, Isaac Keeler, Marcus Windhager, Liam Henry, Joel Hamling, Liam Ryan, Ryley Sanders
