# State of Origin for Bushfire Relief Match

The State of Origin for Bushfire Relief Match was a one-off all-star game between two representative sides organised by the Australian Football League to raise funds for recovery efforts following the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season.
The match was played on 28 February 2020 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, between Victoria (the "Big V") and the "All-Stars", with a crowd of 51,052 in attendance. Victoria won the match by 46 points.

## History

On 9 January, the AFL announced a one-off benefit match would be played on 28 February 2020, as a fundraiser for the relief effort for the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season. The league donated $2.5 million to disaster relief funds in association with the match. Selection for the two teams was under state of origin rules – with players of Victorian origin eligible for Victoria, and all other players eligible for the All-Stars – and it was the first interstate representative match featuring AFL-listed players since the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match held in 2008.

## Teams

On 18 February the AFL announced 27-player teams for each of the Victoria and All-Stars side. All AFL teams had at least one player selected in one of the sides. The match was played with an extended interchange bench of nine players instead of four.
Three late changes were made to the side due to injuries between the initial team announcement and the game itself, with Eddie Betts replacing Dayne Zorko in the All-Stars side and Travis Boak and Andrew Gaff replacing Robbie Gray and Ben Cunnington for Victoria.
Damien Hardwick and John Longmire were the coaches of Victoria and the All-Stars, respectively, and were also primarily responsible for selecting players for their sides.
Richmond captain Trent Cotchin and Fremantle captain Nat Fyfe were named to captain Victoria and the All-Stars, respectively.

### Victoria

| No. | Player's Name | AFL club | State/Territory | Nation |
| 1 | Jade Gresham | St Kilda | Victoria | Australia |
| 2 | Shaun Higgins | North Melbourne | Victoria | Australia |
| 3 | Andrew Gaff | West Coast | Victoria | Australia |
| 4 | Dustin Martin | Richmond | Victoria | Australia |
| 5 | Toby Greene | Greater Western Sydney | Victoria | Australia |
| 6 | Lachie Whitfield | Greater Western Sydney | Victoria | Australia |
| 7 | Marcus Bontempelli | Western Bulldogs (Footscray) | Victoria | Australia |
| 8 | Travis Boak | Port Adelaide | Victoria | Australia |
| 9 | Trent Cotchin (c) | Richmond | Victoria | Australia |
| 10 | Scott Pendlebury | Collingwood | Victoria | Australia |
| 11 | Jack Macrae | Western Bulldogs (Footscray) | Victoria | Australia |
| 12 | Tom Papley | Sydney | Victoria | Australia |
| 13 | Stefan Martin | Brisbane Lions | Victoria | Australia |
| 14 | Bachar Houli | Richmond | Victoria | Australia |
| 18 | Jeremy Cameron | Greater Western Sydney | Victoria | Australia |
| 19 | Tom Lynch | Richmond | Victoria | Australia |
| 20 | Nick Haynes | Greater Western Sydney | Victoria | Australia |
| 21 | James Sicily | Hawthorn | Victoria | Australia |
| 22 | Todd Goldstein | North Melbourne | Victoria | Australia |
| 23 | Josh Kelly | Greater Western Sydney | Victoria | Australia |
| 24 | Steele Sidebottom | Collingwood | Victoria | Australia |
| 30 | Darcy Moore | Collingwood | Victoria | Australia |
| 31 | Rory Sloane | Adelaide | Victoria | Australia |
| 35 | Patrick Dangerfield | Geelong | Victoria | Australia |
| 42 | Adam Saad | Essendon | Victoria | Australia |
| 44 | Jake Lloyd | Sydney | Victoria | Australia |
| 46 | Mark Blicavs | Geelong | Victoria | Australia |
| Source: Fox Sports |||||

### All-Stars

| No. | Player's Name | AFL club | State/Territory | Nation |
| 1 | Michael Walters | Fremantle | Western Australia | Australia |
| 2 | Zach Tuohy | Geelong | Laois | Ireland |
| 3 | Stephen Coniglio | Greater Western Sydney | Western Australia | Australia |
| 4 | Brodie Grundy | Collingwood | South Australia | Australia |
| 5 | Brad Sheppard | West Coast | Western Australia | Australia |
| 6 | Elliot Yeo | West Coast | Western Australia | Australia |
| 7 | Nat Fyfe (c) | Fremantle | Western Australia | Australia |
| 8 | Jack Riewoldt | Richmond | Tasmania | Australia |
| 9 | Patrick Cripps | Carlton | Western Australia | Australia |
| 10 | Shane Edwards | Richmond | South Australia | Australia |
| 12 | Callum Mills | Sydney | New South Wales | Australia |
| 13 | Taylor Walker | Adelaide | New South Wales | Australia |
| 14 | Lachie Weller | Gold Coast | Tasmania | Australia |
| 16 | Isaac Smith | Hawthorn | New South Wales | Australia |
| 17 | Lachie Neale | Brisbane Lions | South Australia | Australia |
| 18 | Scott Lycett | Port Adelaide | South Australia | Australia |
| 19 | Eddie Betts | Carlton | South Australia | Australia |
| 22 | Luke Breust | Hawthorn | New South Wales | Australia |
| 23 | Charlie Cameron | Brisbane Lions | Queensland | Australia |
| 26 | Tom Hawkins | Geelong | New South Wales | Australia |
| 29 | Rory Laird | Adelaide | South Australia | Australia |
| 31 | Harris Andrews | Brisbane Lions | Queensland | Australia |
| 32 | Bradley Hill | St Kilda | Western Australia | Australia |
| 33 | Brodie Smith | Adelaide | South Australia | Australia |
| 38 | Jeremy Howe | Collingwood | Tasmania | Australia |
| 39 | Neville Jetta | Melbourne | Western Australia | Australia |
| 40 | Jason Johannisen | Western Bulldogs (Footscray) | Gauteng | South Africa |
| Source: Fox Sports |||||

## Best-on-ground award

The best-on-ground medal was awarded to Dustin Martin, who kicked two goals and had 23 disposals for Victoria.

## Scorecard

| | State of Origin for Bushfire Relief Match | State of Origin for Bushfire Relief Match | State of Origin for Bushfire Relief Match | | |
| Friday, 28 February 2020 7:50 pm | Victoria | def. | All-Stars | Marvel Stadium (crowd: 51,052) | Report |
| | 4.1 (25) 10.2 (62) 15.7 (97) 24.10 (154) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 4.7 (31) 9.14 (68) 15.16 (106) 15.18 (108) | Umpires: Fisher, Stephens, Nicholls, Williamson Best on Ground Medal: Dustin Martin (Victoria) | Umpires: Fisher, Stephens, Nicholls, Williamson Best on Ground Medal: Dustin Martin (Victoria) |
| Papley 5 Kelly, Greene 4 Martin, Gaff, Bontempelli, Gresham 2 Dangerfield, J Cameron, Lynch 1 | Papley 5 Kelly, Greene 4 Martin, Gaff, Bontempelli, Gresham 2 Dangerfield, J Cameron, Lynch 1 | Goals | C Cameron 3 Coniglio, Breust, Riewoldt, Smith 2 Neale, Weller, Walters, Hill 1 | C Cameron 3 Coniglio, Breust, Riewoldt, Smith 2 Neale, Weller, Walters, Hill 1 |
| Kelly, Martin, Greene, Papley, Pendlebury, Haynes, Cotchin, Dangerfield | Kelly, Martin, Greene, Papley, Pendlebury, Haynes, Cotchin, Dangerfield | Best | Coniglio, C Cameron, Mills, Cripps, Neale, Johannisen | Coniglio, C Cameron, Mills, Cripps, Neale, Johannisen |