The constant discussion surrounding the return of the State of Origin was once again brought to the attention of the masses as league CEO Andrew Dillon refused to rule it out for 2026.

Following the successful comeback of the Indigenous All Stars clash, calls have come for more representative football to be restored as fans and players yearn for its return.

The major fear with representative football is injuries to star players while the timing of the exhibition clashes has always been a spot of contention, but the push by both players and fans to bring back marquee matches has provided hope that the State of Origin can be revived.

"I'm an advocate for it," Geelong assistant coach James Kelly said to reporters on Friday.

"One of the things is always the timing of it. I think how it was with the Indigenous All Stars game is probably a good time to do it.

"Clubs are always (worried) if their players play and get injured. That's always the biggest issue with it all.

"You don't want to give up Jeremy Cameron for the State of Origin, hurts his calf, and then can't play for you the week after."

Kelly offered a solution that could help allay clubs' fears of players getting injured whilst also providing another "spectacle" for the AFL community.

The premiership Cat alluded to the notion that the NRL doesn't have that issue because of the sense of "prestige" and history built into the version of the representative match, in contrast to the NBA's adaptation, which rarely gets out of second gear.

"We shouldn't be trying to do what they (NRL) do in that sense," Kelly added.

"And just have it as a spectacle and celebration of the best players in our game rather than a big rivalry and competition.

"More sort of like the NBA All Star game, rather than the NRL Rugby League game... I think if we're more in the NBA camp, clubs would be more open to it.

"Bit more fun, more scoring and less injuries would be beneficial for everyone."

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