The AFL has announced that Western Bulldogs superstar Marcus Bontempelli and dual Brownlow medallist Patrick Cripps have been appointed as the captains for the 2026 AFL Origin fixture.
Bontempelli will don the 'C' next to his name for Victoria, while Patrick Cripps will lead out his native state of Western Australia.
It's perhaps an unsurprising selection, given that Bontempelli was the first player officially announced to rep the Big V guernsey, while similarly Cripps was the first revealed player to be wearing the Black Swan in the historic return of best-on-best Aussie Rules football.
The honours bolster the pair's elite AFL accomplishments further, with Bontempelli leading the Bulldogs as captain since 2020, and Cripps leading Carlton as lone-skipper since 2022, though he shared co-captain duties with recently retired Blues star Sam Docherty from 2019 to 2021.
"Growing up in Victoria, you always dream of representing your state alongside the best players in the game, so to now get the chance again is pretty special. I can't wait to run out there and represent the Big V," Bontempelli said in November of last year.
"It's a huge honour to be chosen to represent WA. There's a real excitement around the return of the match and I can't wait to play alongside Shai, Tom, Aaron, and other WA stars come February," Cripps said.
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AFL Origin's clash between Victoria and Western Australia will take place on February 14th at Optus Stadium, with the first bounce scheduled for 4:40pm/7:40pm (AWST/AEDT).
