Patrick Dangerfield can’t see State of Origin making a permanent return any time soon

Geelong champion Patrick Dangerfield says next month’s State of Origin contest will be one-off but has a solution that could see representative footy return to the AFL calendar.

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State of Origin has the backing of Patrick Dangerfield but the Geelong superstar believes next month’s bushfire relief match will remain a one-off.

Dangerfield said while there was an “appetite” for Origin football it was unlikely to return as a regular fixture because of the heavy workload already on players during the season.

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Dangerfield has put his hand up to play in the representative event between Victoria and an All Stars team at Marvel Stadium on Friday, February 28.

Money raised from the match will go towards the AFL relief fund to help fire-affected communities rebuild their footy clubs.

The AFL ($1.35 million), clubs ($900,000) and the AFL Players’ Association ($250,000) have pledged a combined $2.5 million to the cause.

Dangerfield, the AFLPA president, again raised the idea of reducing the length of matches which could potentially allow for scheduling more games, including State of Origin.

“I’m seeing it as a one-off at the moment,” Dangerfield said.

“I love the whole concept, I think the cause behind it, they’ve obviously have the hearts of the majority of Australians.

“It is a challenge with where you do put it if it was to become a regular fixture item.

Patrick Dangerfield says there’s no room on the fixture at the moment for State of Origin. Picture: AFL Photos

“And that speaks to the argument of if you were to reduce game time from where it sits currently at 125 to 130 minutes for an entire game, if you reduce it to 100 (minutes) could you actually increase the number of games you have throughout the season, which would arguably make the fixture more equitable.

“But the challenge that we have is availability of grounds around Australia … there’s a whole lot of different factors that come in to (having) more games or State-of-origin fixtures and how that all works.”

Dangerfield said State of Origin had been discussed in AFLPA meetings and received a favourable response from club delegates.

“There’s no doubt that have an appetite for it,” Dangerfield told SEN radio.

“When we’ve had our delegates’ conferences in the past and when it’s been raised there’s been a huge amount of support for it.

“And that's from even young players who probably don’t quite understand it or never seen it.

“I think there’s still an element of that state pride (but) I think it's somewhat diminished simply because we now play all around Australian and you can be drafted anywhere with the way the draft system works.”

Teams for next month’s Origin game will be announced on February 26, and will be capped at a maximum of three players per club.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick will lead the Victorian team and Sydney coach John Longmire will manage the All Stars.

The match will be played as a double-header after the AFLW Round 4 clash between Collingwood and Melbourne.

It would be the first Origin-style match since 2008 when Victoria defeated a Dream Team at the MCG.

Originally published as Patrick Dangerfield can’t see State of Origin making a permanent return any time soon