Collingwood president Eddie McGuire says State of Origin should be brought back as an event every three years on the football calendar.
The league’s first representative game since 2008 will be played on Friday night at a sold-out Marvel Stadium in order to raise funds for bushfire relief.
Almost all of the game’s best players will take part in the clash which will see Victoria take on the All-Stars, with the sides coached by Damien Hardwick and John Longmire.
McGuire will team up with Channel 7’s Bruce McAvaney to co-host the event as part of a special joint television broadcast.
He said a February timeslot for a permanent State of Origin return made sense, adding it be could used to increase the overall value of the league’s next TV rights deal.
“I think this time of year – not in the middle of the season – is the opportunity to bring back Origin in a meaningful way,” he said.
“What happens is in the middle of the season (players use injury as an excuse not to play). We lost Josh Fraser in the last Origin game – he gets picked because he’s playing great football (for Collingwood) and then does (damage to) his posterior cruciate ligament. That really made a big impact on our season.
"I’m a massive supporter of State of Origin but as president of Collingwood I was really upset about the whole thing.
“I think the way to do it going forward is doing it every three years which is about the lifecycle of a footballer on the lower end.
“If you had it every three years and made it a big carnival – you do it at this time of the year where everyone are playing practice matches anyway.
"You’re probably better playing against the superstars of the game than some kid from the VFL or someone who’s trying to make a name for themselves.
“That is something that could be a tremendous opportunity and could have its own TV rights which could then subsidise junior or women’s football.
“Every sport is looking like a Big Bash type event – we’ve got one and it’s called State of Origin.”