AGONY, ecstasy and some "BAAAAAAALLLLL" and boos from a parochial West Australian crowd – footy, and Origin, is back.

The result, a 24-point win to Victoria. The crowd, 58,141 people at a heaving Optus Stadium.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA v VICTORIA Full match coverage and stats

And after weeks of questioning the potential competitiveness, it was an unintended belter of a match, Western Australia kicking four goals to open the fourth term, cutting the margin to just six points.

It took the very best of the Vics – a one-two between Patrick Dangerfield and Nick Daicos at a set shot, and a subsequent major from the wily Cat on 50m – to secure victory, veteran 'Danger' roaring as he embraced the young superstar.

Perth has been decked out in yellow and blue for days, with bunting adorning pubs and shops in the CBD, and advertisements as far as the eye could see.

Even the team hotels had blue and yellow balloons to greet their respective players, while Optus Stadium has been lit in team colours every night for most of the week.

With no recorded team songs, the West Australians ran out to 'Land Down Under', with a guard of honour of loved ones for both teams, and a whopping big flag with each team's logo waved in front of them, Les Mis-style.

It was a slightly uncomfortable 35 degrees (a dry heat, of course), and a fast deck, turned around from an Ed Sheeran concert just 13 days prior, the crowd decked out in yellow, blue and a wild array of AFL club merch.

The first 15 minutes were just so. Much. Fun.

Western Australia – driven by Kozzy Pickett, Chad Warner and some sublime rucking from Darcy Cameron – jumped out to an early lead, with Warner the Swan tapping the black edition on his chest.

The ball was pinging from end to end, the crowd was roaring, and the novelty of the best of the best combining for passages of play was high. 

Bradley Hill was smothering, Liam Baker was tackling fiercely and Daicos was pirouetting like a trained dancer.

Then, every football fan's (and coach's) worst nightmare came true.

Jacob Weitering – so often the unlucky one in his regular life as a Carlton defender – was sandwiched under the full weight of Mitch Georgiades and Sam Collins, crunching his ribs and shoulder against the turf.

After a lengthy delay, he was stretchered from the field in a neck brace, every single player from both sides tapping him on the leg or chest, with Georgiades checking in on him from his spot on the bench.

Weitering wasn't the only injury concern out of the match – Georgiades himself, alongside Sam Taylor, was pulled early with hamstring awareness, while Matt Rowell suffered a hand injury.

It was a slightly subdued restart, but the players soon warmed back into the contest, Charlie Cameron bringing the crowd to its feet with an attempted speccy over Collins.

The usual suspects were up and about. Zak Butters took on Luke Jackson and his own club teammate Georgiades, with the widest possible grin plastered on his face.

Toby Greene let Trent Rivers know about a flubbed kick and subsequent high, and Baker wasn't afraid to get in Greene's face later on, with a brief appearance by Butters.

The pest from Port Adelaide made it three when taking on an irritated Tom Barrass late in the fourth.

The WA crowd came to life whenever the smalls of Cameron, Shai Bolton and the biggest favourite, Pickett, got out in space, but unfortunately it just didn't happen often enough.

Georgiades brought down Daicos – who along with Bailey Smith and Greene, were the three chosen "villains" of the piece by the fans – to rapturous applause, and hometown favourite Jake Waterman dobbed one from 50m on the boundary, celebrating in style.

So synonymous has Cameron and his chosen goal song of 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' become, it was Optus Stadium, rather than the Gabba, that was belting out the tune, louder and louder with every major, including a pearler curler in the fourth.

Dangerfield, six weeks shy of 36, was still bursting through the sizeable frame of Rory Lobb, practice match be damned.

Origin footy meant Max Gawn marked his Melbourne teammate Pickett's shot on the goal line without the usual fanfare, while in the "pigs might fly" moment of the day, Marcus Bontempelli came to the aid of long-term nemesis Greene in a tussle.

Non-GWS Victorian fans could enjoy the antics and skill of Greene guilt-free, right down to the audaciousness of choosing 'Up There Cazaly' as his goal song.

Darcy Cameron and Barrass – old under-18 Western Australia teammates more than a decade ago – celebrated a spoil with a non-ironic, testosterone-driven chest bump. This wasn't a kick and giggle, as Patrick Cripps "accidentally" landing on Gawn's head while tackling demonstrated.

On the flip side, Hill high-fived Greene while running from the field during the fourth, while Smith shared a water bottle with Warner.

In his pre-match press conference on Friday, Chris Scott floated the possibility of two Origin matches next year involving more states, envisioning players around the competition would be banging down the door to play at the conclusion of the game.

Teammate v teammate. State v state. Bring it on.