Well, the return of State of Origin was a mixed bag.
Critics of the concept have a little more ammunition, with Jacob Weitering stretchered off in the first quarter, following a heavy knock, but supporters of the concept have plenty to defend, as well.
In the end, we saw Victoria too strong for a Western Australia team that lacked midfield punch, but the result of this game was not what I was interested in. No, you see, I like to see how things are looking heading into the new season, and what take aways we find in the pre-season games.
With that in mind, let’s jump into HB’s Ten Takeaways from the 2026 State of Origin game.
Please note – I am leaving this review open for all – we all watched it. We all what it was. That said, all Match Sims and AAMI Series pre-season games, which we’ll cover in greater depth than this one, will be for members. A good time to jump onboard.
1 – THERE WAS NEVER AN ISSUE WITH PLAYERS GOING HARD, AND THERE NEVER WILL BE!
It took only a matter of minutes for the players to show you they only know one way to go about it. And I’m not talking about the incident that saw Jacob Weitering stretchered off.
Moments before that, there was a contest out wide, pitting Matt Rowell against Patrick Cripps. It saw the younger Brownlow Medallist take down the WA captain in a crunching tackle. It was the exact type of contest that, had players been of the understanding that they were not to do anything that could cause injury, would not have occurred. Rowell wrapped him up and drove him into the ground. Great tackling on a bloke who is damn hard to tackle!
From there, it seemed as though there was plenty of feeling in the game. Liam Baker, Zak Butters, Toby Greene, Tom Barrass… all threw their bodies in and took umbrage with an opponent for one reason or another. It was good to see, as one of the big concerns was that players would not take the contest overly serious.
I reckon that’s been laid to rest. Players only know one way.
2 – FOR A HIGHLY-SKILLED PLAYER, SHAI BOLTON SHANKS FAR TOO MANY KICKS
How many straight kicks was he away from being the matchwinner for WA?
Two?
I reckon there might be a few Tigers supporters nodding sagely as they watched Bolton spray and shank his way to 1.3 for the game, with the one goal coming from the goal line. Not that they’re happy to see him fail, but rather, they have seen it all before.
Bolton was making things happen, but when it came to converting, he was nowhere near it.
We can put it down to early-season jitters, or fatigue if you prefer, but we’re talking about a guy who has hovered around 52-53% accuracy in front of the big sticks for years, and last season, he was at 49%.
Freo need him to be better than this in 2026. A bloke that misses more than he kicks, on the type of money he’s on… the Dockers deserve better.
There was a Graham Moss Medal there for the taking in this game. He had a great shot at it, but like his kicking for goal, he missed the target.
3 – THE CHAD HAS FOUND HIS LIGHTNING FAST FIRST STEP AGAIN
Now this is an interesting one, because over the course of the game, he was well-beaten by Marcus Bontempelli in their head-to-head clash, but there were flashes that the 2024 version of Chad Warner in there as well. They were missing too often in 2025.
His change of direction to extract himself from trouble, and his ability to step through traffic were on display in the first half, as he collected ten of his 16 touches.
Yep, only 16 touches – it felt as though he had more, right?
On the flip side, his defensive efforts were horrible, with Bont, and just about every Victorian midfielder, able to slip forward to create for teammates, or hit the scoreboard, themselves. It reflected a clear advantage to the Vics in the middle, with names like Daicos (38 touches), Bontempelli (30), Smith (25), and Zak Butters (27), collecting the footy for fun. Meanwhile, the best the Sandgropers could offer were Bolton (24 touches), Stephen Coniglio (21), and Patrick Cripps (20).
All that said, I saw enough to make me think that we’re going to see a version of Chad Warner this season that will blow some teams off the park. A lot to take away from a pre-season game, and there is a lot of water to go under the bridge, but I expect big things from him this season. We’ll revisit, I am sure.
4 – THE NEW RUCK INTERPRETATIONS WILL BENEFIT ONLY ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS
The good ting about this game is that we got to see a number of matchups.
Darcy Cameron started by murdering Max Gawn, resulting in three-straight clearances for Paddy Cripps to open the game.
The Vics switched it up, and you then had Tristan Xerri in the ruck, taking advantage of his big body to work over Cameron.
Then you had Tim English enter the fray and he… did something or other. Nothing impressive, though.
So, what’s the takeaway on this aspect?
My jury is out. It was good to see the blokes jumping at it, but it was strange that WA didn’t attempt to capitalise on the athleticism of Luke Jackson at centre bounces. Part of me thinks that it is going to take a bit of time for teams to get their heads around it (which will make the match sims over the next week and a bit very interesting), but there is a large part of me that thinks this is not going to have the impact some think it will.
Also, here is a picture I took of Luke Jackson
You tell me he doesn’t look like a wet owl, and I’ll tell you you’re lying!
5 – TOBY GREENE STILL HAS ‘IT’
I wrote earlier about Shai Bolton not kicking straight, and I reckon the same could be applied to Toby, here.
I give him a pass because the shots at goal he missed in the final quarter were both tough shots from distance, but I loved the way he stood up and became the forward target of choice when the Vics were challenged.
Greene is a lightning rod for everything. Fights, scuffles, hard tackles, getting in his opponent’s face… they’re all great, but he also snagged two goals, took 11 marks, and had ten score involvements.
You know how when Sam Mitchell was the captain of the Hawks but Luke Hodge was the spiritual leader?
That’s how I saw this Vic team. Toby was under an injury cloud and there was a thought he’d have to play conservatively. Nup… caution was thrown to the wind, and he went all-out in this game.
You may hate the bloke, but far out, he puts in. Personally, I love the way he goes about it.
6 – WEST COAST WILL BE A DIFFERENT TEAM WITH JAKE WATERMAN IN THE SIDE
Someone was making a statement the other day on SEN, in between about 700 annoying ads, that West Coast would be lucky to win two games in 2026.
They’ll win more than that with a fit Jake Waterman in the team.
He led well, had great hands, and kicked two telling goals. More than that, he gave the WA team a very solid target alongside Jesse Hogan, and when he is THE focal point of the offence, he is going to make a world of difference to an attack that was depleted in 2025.
He played just eight games last season as the Eagles went on to record their worst ever record. As long as this bloke is coming out of the square, 2025 will remain the worst, because he straightens the team up.
7 – MAX HOLMES WILL LIKELY NEVER PLAY AS A KEY DEFENDER AGAIN
When Jacob Weitering went down injured, we got a nice little surprising from the Victorian coaching panel, with Max Holmes pushed into an unfamiliar role, as a key defender.
Yep… Max Holmes – key defender.
And how’d that go?
Well, it could have been a lot worse, but it quickly became apparent that WA wanted to play through whichever forward Holmes found himself on. Initially, it was Jesse Hogan.
That’s called a mismatch.
And we saw Holmes have to contend with Jack Gunston and Ben King, as well.
He finished with 21 touches, with nine of them coming in the first quarter, before he was forced into the defensive role, and I am guessing it’ll be the last time we see Max line up on a marking forward. He didn’t look like he was too rapt with the role.
8 – NICK DAICOS PROBABLY CAME SECOND IN THE TED WHITTEN MEDAL VOTING
Look, I kind of thought it was a foregone conclusion that Daicos was going to win it. 38 touches didn’t earn themselves, after all.
So, it was a massive surprise when Lachie Ash was awarded the medal for his potent run off half-back.
I half expect Craig McRae to storm onto some Sunday sports show and say they’re going to somehow rework the voting system in state games to get it right next year, or something.
Seriously though, there were moments in this where Daicos’ class was undeniable. His twisting, turning pass to Bont late in the first quarter emphasised just how good he is, and his work rate to get back and help in defence was elite. Even as he tired, he still put in the work.
Great to see him, Bailey Smith, and Toby Greene roundly booed at Optus Stadium. It set a fantastic tone.
9 – WE ALL HAVE OUR FINGERS CROSSED FOR JACOB WEITERING
This’ll be the weapon of choice for detractors of the State of Origin concept.
Weitering was taken to hospital after an accidental collision in a marking contest, that saw Sam Collins come back with the flight, and Mitch Georgiades fall backwards, landing across the head and upper body of Weitering.
The game was stopped for around 8-9 minutes, as he was taken from the ground on a stretcher. I don’t want to sound callous, but I hope it is just a concussion. Things are never “just” a concussion these days, are they? It is one of the injuries that is right in the spotlight, but in terms of being there for the Blues this season, my thoughts are he sits out a week or two if that is a concussion. If he gets a shoulder/rib injury, as well, maybe he is out longer? I am not discounting head injuries – I am just hoping it is nothing else on top of that.
Anyway, it was exactly what the game did not need, and I am sure we all, not just Carlton fans, wish him a speedy recovery and that it was nothing more sinister than a hard, accidental knock.
Get back soon, Jacob.
10 – THIS CONCEPT HAS LEGS
The players want it. If you stuck around and listened to the post-game interviews, you could both hear and see it when they were interviewed. All looked to be rapt to have been a part of the State of Origin rebirth.
There are two big questions the AFL now has to ponder.
How often do they do this?
And, do they keep it isolated to the three “heartland” footy states?
I am sure there will be a lot of discussion about State of Origin in the halls of AFL House over the next few months, as they decide what is best for the game, players, and supporters.
From where I sit, the easy choice is Victoria versus South Australia next year, but it is after that we start to find muddy waters. I’d love to see the AFL put a bit of trust in the product and go for a WA v SA clash in 2028.
SOME QUICKIES
Was I the only one who had a chuckle when Mitch Georgiades went after Zak Butters after the latter got caught holding the ball? These two share a house! That’s what you get when you don’t put the lid back on the peanut butter properly, Zak!
Tom Barrass is a beast. I thought he would have been a very worthy recipient of the Graham Moss Medal. His defensive work in the second half was elite, and a reminder to people just how dominant he can be.
Lawson Humphries showed plenty opposed to Toby Greene, but the old Giant gave him a few moments to worry about. Greene didn’t bother chasing after Humphries, but when the ball came back the other way, old Uncle Toby was there, waiting to punish Humphries for his impertinence.
Zak Butters has more mongrel in him than some entire teams. He lit the fuse in this game, unquestionably.
Stephen Coniglio will be a valuable contributor at GWS this year. Looks fit. Doesn;t look built to win a contested footy, but if he assumes the role of Josh Kelly, he is a mightily handy replacement.
Has Danger lost a couple of kilograms? I know a lot of players over 30 try to drop a kilo per year (Luke Hodge and Jordan Lewis both adhered to this rule) to prolong their life in footy. He looked a bit slimmer to me. If only we had a way of measuring someone’s weight to assess this…
Four renditions of “Country Roads…” fr Charlie Cameron. Love it.
A fit Jesse Hogan makes GWS a different team. He just looked like a real presence in this one, and those hands were back to their best.
Ben King looked good early on, as well. Two contested grabs in the first quarter were exactly what I wanted to see from him. I have always thought he is too easily beaten in the air, but he is looking more confident in his ability.
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. You can see the amount of care that goes into it. I love footy, I love writing about it, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Without you, this whole thing falls over. Sincerely… thank you – HB
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