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.
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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
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THERE is star power dotted throughout this South Australia side.
It starts in the form of Brisbane's two-time Brownlow Medal-winning captain Lachie Neale, who leads a strong midfield alongside Adelaide's Jordan Dawson, Port Adelaide's Connor Rozee and Hawthorn's Will Day.
It continues in an attack that is spearheaded by Adelaide's young pair Riley Thilthorpe and Darcy Fogarty and supported capably by Port Adelaide's Jack Lukosius and Sydney's Will Hayward.
St Kilda gun Callum Wilkie is the figurehead of a backline group also led by Fremantle's Brennan Cox and Gold Coast's Charlie Ballard as key-position options, but with Adelaide's Rory Laird and Essendon's Mason Redman providing the run.
Meanwhile, it's hard to split the starting rucks. Instead, there is a two-pronged approach that features both Essendon's Sam Draper and Sydney's Brodie Grundy, with Thilthorpe also able to provide support.
While there is quality in abundance, there perhaps isn't the depth of other State of Origin sides chosen across the course of the week. But young talent, like Adelaide's Sid Draper and St Kilda's Mattaes Phillipou, would ensure a strong future core.
South Australia
B: Max Michalanney, Callum Wilkie, Brennan Cox
HB: Rory Laird, Charlie Ballard, Mason Redman
C: Jordan Dawson, Lachie Neale, Will Day
HF: Alex Neal-Bullen, Jack Lukosius, Will Hayward
F: Darcy Fogarty, Riley Thilthorpe, Mattaes Phillipou
Foll: Sam Draper, George Hewett, Connor Rozee
I/C: Tom Sparrow, Tom Powell, Brodie Grundy, Bailey Williams
Emerg: Beau McCreery, Brad Close, John Noble, Caleb Daniel
Notable others: Mitch Hinge, Sid Draper, Lincoln McCarthy, Michael Frederick, James Aish, Leek Aleer, Rhys Stanley, Kade Chandler, Harrison Petty, Dylan Stephens, Jordon Sweet, Brandon Zerk-Thatcher, Jackson Mead, Ryan Burton, Matt Roberts, Jack Graham
