THE AFL will consult with club high performance teams and consider shortening the length of quarters for next year's AAMI AFL Origin clash if it believes that will benefit players in the build-up to the 2027 season.
The return of representative football this year had a frustrating post-script for some clubs as star players for WA and Victoria suffered in-game injuries, pulled up sore, or exceeded their planned workloads in the ballistic Origin match at Optus Stadium.
Greater Western Sydney star Sam Taylor was a major casualty with a high-grade hamstring strain, while Matt Rowell (finger), Jacob Weitering (ribs), Callum Ah Chee (hamstring) and Mitch Georgiades (hamstring) suffered setbacks.
Several other players suffered soft tissue injuries in the weeks following Origin, with the match surprising clubs with its high-octane style, which saw players smash through their planned running loads at a highly sensitive point of the pre-season.
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said the League would work with clubs to determine the best build-up and match conditions for the players, including the prospect of shorter quarters.
"We'll work through that … no one really knew what the game was going to be like, and what we saw was actually footy at its finest," Dillon said on Monday when announcing the return of Origin for the next three years.
"I think what we'll see is there will be a different build-up for the players, and we'll work through what's actually best for the game and best for the players.
"If that meant shortening the quarters slightly, then we'll definitely look at that, and that's part of the feedback that we've got.
"We'll deal with the experts, the high performance teams of all of the clubs. They'll be the ones that we'll take the advice from."
Dillon said the Origin concept had support from clubs and players, and there was an understanding that injuries can happen at any time, with WA taking on Victoria this year as clubs held intraclub matches.
The CEO said feedback from players had been positive after the 2026 match, which generated state-based passion and rivalry among the League's best players and club teammates.
"The players loved the opportunity earlier this year, and we've got good feedback in relation to length of game and squad sizes," Dillon said.
"One of the best bits of feedback we got was that the players wanted to spend more time together as a group.
"So we'll take all that on board. This concept works when the players buy in, because when the players buy in, the clubs buy in. And that means it's great for the fans."
Western Australia and Victoria completed four days in camp ahead of the 2026 Origin clash, with the WA squad using a Zoom meeting the week prior to prepare under coach Dean Cox.
As well as training sessions and team meetings, the camp included clinics, school visits and tourism activities as part of a packed schedule.
Players spoke afterwards, however, about the immediate bonds that were built as representative players and their passion to return, with chairman of selectors Glen Jakovich excited for the next generation of WA players.
"I had players ringing me, and their managers ringing me, so I was the most popular person leading into Origin this year, and I was just overwhelmed," Jakovich said.
"We had to leave good players out that otherwise would be an Origin player."