McGuire's grand plan to bring back State of Origin

Eddie McGuire has called on the AFL to bring back State of Origin games.

The last time an official Australian rules State of Origin match was played was in 1999.

There has not been a game in the 21st century. At the start of 2020, though, the AFL did hold a State of Origin charity game between Victoria and the All Stars, to raise money for those affected by the bushfires of that summer.

McGuire says it's the perfect chance for the league to unite fans, particularly noticing how successful their Gather Round fixture has been over the past two years in Adelaide.

Gather Round has seen all 18 teams play off against each other in Adelaide, as a way to bring fans from around the nation together. The AFL copied the NRL's Magic Round idea, as they did with Origin previously.

"The only way you can do it, if you really want to do it, is almost turn it into like a Gather Round experience," McGuire said on Nine's Footy Classified on Wednesday night.

McGuire thinks that the AFL could successfully reintroduce State of Origin, if they worked out a fixturing system that was similar to Gather Round.

"Do it before the season starts, once every three years, and do it as a carnival in say, Tasmania, to continue that flavour. Or do it in Perth.

"The players are having practice matches anyway.

There hasn't been a true State of Origin game played since 1999.

"So, you're better off getting all the good players having a good game of footy and a run around at that stage, as (compared to) playing with blokes that are fill ins."

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Matthew Lloyd agreed with McGuire's sentiment, expressing his fond memories for the times he got to represent Victoria alongside some of the game's greatest.

"It was one of the best experiences of my life," Lloyd said.

However, he fears the game may have passed State of Origin by, as players focus on winning a premiership - the ultimate goal of playing at the elite level.

"I worry that a pre-season game would be like AFLX, if it was before the season started," Lloyd said.

"They'd probably rather use that game to play with their teammates, to fine-tune their game plan."