While the league remains non-committal about more representative fixtures, it was a popular discussion on Monday as the skippers had their annual pre-season media day.
The Indigenous All-Stars' hit-out against Fremantle in Perth earlier this month was a success and that's fuelled the long-running debate around whether the AFL should re-introduce some form of State Of Origin.
Unlike rugby league, where the Queensland-NSW series is one of the season highlights, representative football is a rarity on the AFL calendar.
Victoria played an All-Stars team to raise money for bushfire relief in 2020, while Victoria and a Dream Team clashed in 2008 to mark 150 years of Australian football.
The AFL discussed the issue with the captains on Sunday night at a Melbourne dinner.
"We have to be mindful, it's a demanding game and pre-season clearly contributes to that so to elongate that, we have to be mindful of the welfare of the players," said Geelong captain and players's association president Patrick Dangerfield.
"We discussed timing and February was a high note amongst the players, where we think it could work.
"There's obviously a fair bit to go in around that - you want availability, first and foremost the most important thing, you want the best players playing, and you don't want to jeopardise their availability for the upcoming season for their teams.
"And you want crowd support, so if you can get those three ducks in a row, so if you can get that right, I think it would be great for the game."
Carlton captain and last year's Brownlow Medallist Patrick Cripps would be one of the first picked for a WA origin team.
"I would 100 per cent play," he said.
Unlike rugby league, one of the key reasons that State Of Origin died in the AFL is that clubs did not want to risk injury to their stars.
"You're going to be playing games anyway so anytime you train or that you're going to have risk," Cripps said of a pre-season representative game.
"I think if you're ever going to have a time to do it it's this time because you're playing a lot of intra clubs or pre-season matches.
"Just watching the All Star game I thought the atmosphere was unbelievable."
Collingwood captain Darcy Moore said the feedback from teammates Bobby Hill and Ash Johnson about the Indigenous All-Stars had been encouraging.
"They loved it, got a lot out of it and the fan response was fantastic, and the crowd and the spectacle, and speaking to the AFL last night, they were super happy with it as well, so there's definitely a path forward if we want to do it," Moore said.
"Players are definitely open to it, given the right conditions, the timing, and, that sort of stuff and that the resources are put behind it to really set it up to succeed.
"Ultimately do the fans have an appetite for it ? It seems that way, it seems like people are excited by the idea, so we're definitely open to it."
Last week, AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said he is keen to gauge club and player interest.
"I can't rule it in and can't rule it out (for 2026), but it will certainly be a conversation that I'd like to have," he said.
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