The AFL has confirmed State of Origin is here to stay, locking in three more matches across 2027, 2028 and 2029 after the concept's return drew more than 58,000 fans to Perth Stadium earlier this year.

Western Australia will host South Australia in 2027, a match that will fall 50 years after the first State of Origin fixture was played at Subiaco Oval in 1977. South Australia then gets hosting rights in 2028, with Victoria the visitor at Adelaide Oval. The cycle closes in 2029 when Victoria and Western Australia meet in Perth. (ABC News, AFL.com.au)

No other states have been scheduled for the 2027–2029 window. The Allies concept — a combined team drawn from Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland, the ACT and the Northern Territory — was last used in 1998 and does not feature in the current plan.

AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon confirmed the fixture schedule. The 2026 return match, played on February 14, saw Victoria beat Western Australia at Perth Stadium, with Chris Scott and Dean Cox coaching the opposing sides. (AFL.com.au)

State of Origin, for those newer to the game, pits the best players born or raised in each state against one another, rather than their usual AFL clubs. The format was a fixture staple through the 1980s and 1990s before falling away as the national club competition expanded.

The 2027 meeting between WA and SA will be their first State of Origin clash since 1998, when South Australia won by 36 points at Football Park in front of 18,000 fans. Victoria and WA had last met even earlier — their previous encounter before the 2026 return was in 1992. (AFL.com.au)

For fans, the rotation means each of the three traditional footy heartland states gets a turn as both host and visitor over three years. WA features in two of the three matches, SA in two, and Victoria in two — a balanced draw across the trio that has driven the rivalry since the format's inception.

The 50-year anniversary in 2027 adds a layer of occasion. The first State of Origin match, played at Subiaco Oval in Perth, kicked off a tradition that gave players a rare chance to represent where they came from rather than who employed them. That idea clearly still resonates — 58,000-plus at Perth Stadium in February said as much.