For most of the 20th century, the absence of a national club competition in Australia meant that interstate matches were regarded as important events.

Football historian John Devaney has argued that "some of the state of origin contests which took place during the 1980s constituted arguably the finest expositions of the game ever seen".

Victoria, the birthplace of Australian rules and, with contributing factors such as population and finances, dominated the first hundred years of intercolonial and interstate football.

This was the case in the first-ever intercolonial representative match, held on Tuesday, 1 July 1879 (a public holiday), at East Melbourne Cricket Ground.

[12] In the second game between South Australia and Victoria after war, the states participated in the second representative draw, in a high scoring affair with the side locked in at 123 to 123 at full time.

[23] After the match with the result not taken well in the west, because of the observation that this had been a regular occurrence, it was first started being mentioned that games should be played on State of Origin criteria.

[23] Likewise in the 1974 game between the states, with the same result occurring, with again a Western Australia player being involved in the winning play, it was reported in the west as being the last straw.

[23] Also in 1970 after a decade of surprise upsets, and large disappointing defeats, Tasmania recorded a memorable victory over Western Australia.

[17] In the lead up to the match, an over confident Western Australian captain Polly Farmer, announced to the media that That his side simply could not countenance anything other than a convincing win, and "If we can't beat Tasmania, we ought to give the game away,.

Led by Leon Larkin, marketing manager of the Subiaco Football Club, Western Australia began to campaign for players to be selected according to state of origin rules.

[27] However, after 1986, the concept began to wane in popularity in Western Australia, with the entrance of West Coast into the expanded Victorian Football League in 1987.

[29] A record State of Origin crowd of 91,960 at the match (significantly exceeding the VFL's prediction of 70,000) signalled a strong return.

[29] The AFL later gained formal affiliations with these states and territories signalling the end of the NFL's involvement in interstate football.

[34][35] In 1994, Graham Cornes criticised the Commission for its poor promotion of State of Origin in comparison with its rugby league equivalent, while also noting the negative impact that the nationalisation of the AFL had on interstate football's prestige.

[36] In the AFL Commission's five-year plan released in August 1994, the Commission announced further plans to reinvigorate State of Origin, attempting to establish a competition to rival Rugby League's equivalent; this included setting aside a free week in the fixture, and introducing a new composite team to be known as the Allies to represent all states outside Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia and be more competitive against them.

[41] Only one match was played in 1999, with Victoria 17.19 (121) defeating South Australia 10.7 (67) before a crowd of 26,063 in rainy conditions; it would prove to be the last state of origin game.

The first was the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match, held on a free weekend in 2008 as part of that season's celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Australian rules football.

State of Origin matches in the 1980s in South Australia and Western Australia regularly drew crowds between 30,000 and 50,000, on par with grand finals in those states during that era; and interstate matches in Tasmania consistently drew crowds which either exceeded or were second only to the Tasmanian league's grand final attendances.

One match in Victoria in 1989 against South Australia set the national interstate football record crowd of 91,960, with 10,000 people turned away at the gate,[47] and other large crowds at interstate games in Victoria were between 60,000 and 70,000,[48] on par with some large home-and-away games but lower than a typical finals attendance.

[47] The primary reason for the difference in popularity between Victoria and the other states was the Victorian team's historical dominance in interstate football.

[50][51] The record crowd of 91,960 in Melbourne in 1989 came after South Australia had beaten Victoria three years in a row, demonstrating that Victorian fans were willing to embrace interstate football when the rivalry and contests were closely fought.

[54] Players from all states, including Victoria, viewed selection and participation in interstate football with great importance.

[55] Graham Cornes, well known for his involvement in the South Australian team, always spoke equally proudly of the experience of representing his state.

[53] John Platten, a highly decorated player, described a drought-breaking victory playing for South Australia, over Victoria, as one of his proudest football moments.

Greg Champion wrote a song, "Don't Let The Big V Down", about the traditional navy blue jumper with a large white V used to represent Victoria in state games.

[71] Paul Roos commented about the first state game he played in South Australia that "when walking up the entrance and onto Football Park was an experience in itself.

[76] This was evident in the first match between Victoria and Western Australia in Melbourne in 1904, where, before the game, the home Victorians put on a function for the two sides as a welcome.

[78] Shane Parker, a former Western Australia player, said of the rivalry: "When I was a kid, the State of Origin games were the greatest ever.

Some of the carnivals the format consisted of qualification matches at the start of the tournament, with the winners playing off in a final.

The only two teams which have taken part in these games are Victoria and the All-Stars (similar to the AFL's "Allies"), who represent the rest of Australia.