With the announcement of the upcoming 2026 State of Origin match, I’m putting myself out there as I attempt an AFL Victorian Country footy version, given that 10 of the 21 Vic's named in the squad so far come from Victorian country football beginnings. And let's be real, all major carnivals always have a Vic Country team!
The process of putting this squad together is relatively simple.
The 'Squad' includes any player who is named in:
- the 2026 State of Origin squad
- the 2025 All Australian side or squad
- and that they started at an AFL Vic aligned league/club before being drafted.
The rest of the positions are filled with other former Vic country players who had outstanding 2025 seasons with those additional selections made by using the players season position, rating and other season statistics as indicated in the stats section of 2025 from afl.com.au to justify their position in the side.
The team will consist of:
- 3 key defenders
- 3 defenders
- 2 wingmen and a centre
- 1 ruck, ruck rover and rover
- 3 key forwards
- 3 forwards
The interchange will be made up of the 2 midfielders, 1 forward, 1 defender and 1 ruck who achieve the next 'highest' amount of votes behind those who get selected.
Now there maybe controversial selections in the squad, namely to do with the players origins and whether they are Victorian or not. So just to be clear to qualify, a player needs to originally be drafted from:
- a Victorian country football club
- a New South Wales club that plays in an AFL Victoria affiliated country league. (e.g Todd Marshall)
For reference, AFL Victoria affiliated leagues that include NSW based clubs are:
- Central Murray FNL
- Golden Rivers FNL
- Murray FNL
- Ovens & Murray FNL
- Sunraysia FNL
- Upper Murray FNL
Also, there are always arguments made that leagues such as Geelong FNL, the Mornington Peninsula Nepean FNL and the Outer East FNL should not be included in a ‘country’ team.
Other anomalies such as Josh Battle drafted from Doveton FNC who were in the Outer East FNL at the time he was drafted, but are now in a different league, are also considered as selectable.
Whilst they are significant population centres and located much closer to the city now than in years gone past, they are under the auspices of AFL Vic Country, so they fit our criteria.
So have a go at being a selector and the 'fans' team will be announced prior to the AFL State of Origin match on February 14th.
Click
here to select your team
