The Sydney Swans have dominated the NSW Origin team selected in this year’s State of Origin team with five Swans players and three coaches selected.
Sydney Swans co-captain Callum Mills, who won this year’s Carey Bunton Medal for the best player from NSW in the AFL this season, will be vice-captain of the team that includes teammates Dane Rampe, Nick Blakey, Errol Gulden and Isaac Heeney.
Senior coach John Longmire will coach the side with Jarrad McVeigh and Ben Matthews named as assistant coaches.
Nick Blakey has been declared the winner of the Jimmy Stiff Medal for Emerging Talent following a break-out season with the Sydney Swans. Jimmy Stiff was a South Sydney star who won the best player award at the ANFC interstate carnival in Sydney in 1933.
NSW State of Origin team for 2022
Isaac Cumming, Dougal Howard, Dane Rampe
Harry Perryman, Harry Himmelberg, Nick Blakey
Errol Gulden, Callum Mills (vc), Isaac Smith
Charlie Spargo, Taylor Walker, Luke Breust
Isaac Heeney, Tom Hawkins (c), Todd Marshall
Jarrod Witts, Jacob Hopper, Matthew Kennedy
Reserves: Jeremy Finlayson, Nick Murray, Lachie Schultz, Will Setterfield
Coaches: John Longmire (senior), Mark McVeigh (senior assistant), Jarrad McVeigh, Ben Matthews, Greg Stafford
In announcing the NSW State-of-Origin team for 2022, NSW Australian Football History Society patron Richard Colless, who leads the selection process said, “This year’s team is probably the strongest ever, and the selectors felt that this team could give most AFL teams a run for their money”.
“Fourteen members of the team came from southern NSW stretching from Albury to Moama including the Wagga area and the MIA, colloquially known as the Barassi Line, while five players were from Sydney, two from Broken Hill, and Isaac Heeney from Newcastle”.
“Three of the Sydney players – Rampe, Blakey and Gulden - were recruited from UNSW-Eastern Suburbs, the most from any single club. Three clubs provided two players each - Will Setterfield and Charlie Spargo (both from Albury Tigers), Harry Perryman and Matt Kennedy (Collingullie-Glenfield Park) while “Tex” Walker and Isaac Cumming are both from Broken Hill club, Norths.”
“As the convenor of the selection panel, I want to thank the selectors, Gerard Healy, Mike Sheahan, Mark Maclure, and Wayne Carey, and Rod Gillett for their considered input”.
“We were very pleased to have the support from the AFL Coaches Association for the voting system for the Carey-Bunton Medal. Thank you to Alistair Nicholson and his team at the AFLCA”.
