AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said a conversation with Carlton captain and champion West Australian Patrick Cripps had helped convince him that players would get behind the return of State of Origin.

The AFL has confirmed Origin will return for the first time in more than 25 years, with Western Australia to play Victoria in Perth next February.

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WA will host the 'Big V' at Optus Stadium on Saturday, February 14, the first State of Origin game since May, 1999.

The selection of both teams and player eligibility criteria will be announced in the coming months.

But the prospect of a WA side led by the likes of Chad Warner, Patrick Cripps and Luke Jackson taking on a Victoria team featuring Nick Daicos, Marcus Bontempelli and Patrick Dangerfield is sure to whet the appetite for the historic clash.

The mid-February time slot mirrors the game between the Indigenous All Stars and Fremantle this year, which drew a crowd of 37,865 to Optus Stadium.

"It was earlier in the year when we had all the club captains, and I was lucky enough to sit next to Patrick Cripps and we talked about it," Dillon said at Monday's announcement.

"I could see how much it meant to him if that opportunity could happen.

"Like the All Stars game earlier this year, when the players buy in the clubs buy in and then the fans buy in. We're really looking forward to it."

Dillon said the League had been working with the AFL Players' Association about how the stars of the game would be remunerated.

The AFL boss said the match would be played with bigger squads and interchange rotations, with the early implementation of any rule changes that are confirmed for the 2026 AFL season. 

Only five WA products were named in this year's 44-player All-Australian squad, but WA great Glen Jakovich expects his home state to deliver Victoria a "torrid" experience.

"The Victorians have always struggled here in WA. They can't keep up with our pace, the grounds are too quick for them," Jakovich said.

"I look at Luke Jackson, who will palm it to Chad Warner, Patrick Cripps will be in the middle, so it won't go into our backline.

"Then there's the aerialists. You'll have Mitch Georgiades and Aaron Naughton, if they don't mark it Bobby Hill will just sweep it up.

"So it's going to be a torrid afternoon here for the Victorians come February 14."

Jakovich backed his former West Coast teammate and current Sydney boss Dean Cox to coach the WA side.

Origin was last played in 1999, when Victoria thrashed South Australia, while the 'Big V' also featured against composite sides in the 2008 Hall of Fame tribute match and 2020 bushfire relief match.

WA and Victoria have not played each other since 1992.

Dillon said other states will have the opportunity to play Origin in future but it made sense for WA to host Victoria in the re-launch, given they contested the inaugural fixture in 1977.

The match will be broadcast on Channel 7 and Fox, as well as 7Plus and Kayo streaming platforms.

The 2026 AFL Origin game, WA v Victoria, is proudly supported by the Western Australian Government through Tourism Western Australia