CHRIS Scott and Dean Cox have been unveiled as the two coaches for the return of State of Origin next year.
Scott, Geelong’s two-time premiership coach, will lead Victoria against Western Australia, who will be led by Cox, the WA legend and current Sydney coach.
Western Australia will host the ‘Big V’ in 2026 AAMI AFL Origin at Optus Stadium on Saturday, February 14, the first State of Origin game since May, 1999.
Each coach and their selection committee, led by a Chairman of Selectors to be named shortly, will soon select their squads, with player announcements to start next month. Players will be picked based on their junior club location from where they were drafted.
The two coaches will also select three assistant coaches and a high-performance manager each.
While Scott spent his entire playing career in Brisbane, who was born and raised in Victoria and has been at the helm of the Cats since 2011.
Origin will be his second taste of representative coaching having led Australia in the 2017 International Rules Series against Ireland.
One of WA’s greatest ever players, Cox earned six All-Australian blazers as well as a premiership across his 290 games at West Coast, while he also played against Victoria for the Dream Team in the 2008 Hall of Fame game.
He has been at the helm of the Swans for the past 12 months.
Origin was last played in 1999, when Victoria thrashed South Australia, while the ‘Big V’ also featured against composite sides in the 2008 Hall of Fame tribute match and 2020 bushfire relief match.
WA and Victoria have not played each other since 1992.
The mid-February time slot mirrors the game between the Indigenous All Stars and Fremantle this year, which drew a crowd of 37,865 to Optus Stadium.
