PERTH, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The Australian Football League (AFL) on Saturday staged its first "State of Origin" match since 1999 at Perth Stadium, where Victoria defeated Western Australia 125-101 but injuries to two number-one draft picks illustrated the risks of such a game.
Featuring teams rich in talent with eligibility tied to junior clubs, Victoria led a combative high-paced contest at every break to outclass Western Australia in front of 58,141 spectators.
Collingwood's Nick Daicos ran free in Victoria's midfield with 38 disposals and a goal, while Western Australia forward Jesse Hogan (GWS Giants) booted five goals to keep his side within touching distance until the visitors pulled away in the final minutes.
"I couldn't be prouder of how we played the game ... We stuck it right up 'em!," Victoria captain Marcus Bontempelli, invoking the spirit of fierce Origin advocate Ted Whitten.
An Indigenous All-Stars exhibition match in Perth last February attracted 38,000 fans, proving an appetite exists for representative games, but critics fear the injury risk in matches not played for premiership points is too great.
Those concerns were underscored after a first quarter collision saw Carlton's 2015 number-one pick, Victoria full-back Jacob Weitering, carried off the field and taken to hospital. Gold Coast's 2019 prized recruit, midfielder Matt Rowell, also left the field prematurely with a hand injury.
Victoria, the traditional heartland of Australian Rules, now boast a 13-7 record against Western Australia in Origin encounters, having last met them in 1992.
The AFL shelved state competition at the turn of the century as the National Rugby League (NRL) elevated its code's rivalry between New South Wales and Queensland into one of Australia's most hotly contested trophies.
(Reporting by Joel Dubber in Perth; Editing by Ed Osmond)
