The engine room of Victoria’s side for next year’s State of Origin match has taken a major hit, with superstar Brisbane midfielder Will Ashcroft having his eligibility revoked.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old was set to compete in the ‘Big V’ next February against Western Australia, having spent some of his junior career playing in Victoria in the bayside suburbs, including for the Sandringham Dragons.<\/p>\n
But after initially clearing him, the AFL have now knocked back his eligibility according to the Herald Sun, highlighting a clear grey area in the rules<\/p>\n
Although the only requirement for eligibility was based on where you played your junior football, Ashcroft has been ruled out, while Western Australian star Kysaiah Pickett has been given the all clear, despite the Melbourne<\/a> forward growing up playing predominantly in South Australia.<\/p>\n MORE:\u00a0AFL State of Origin squads: Victoria and WA team lists for 2026 match<\/a><\/p>\n Ashcroft told the\u00a0Herald Sun\u00a0that despite spending some time growing up in Queensland, he still feels Victorian.<\/p>\n \u201cI like to think of myself (as a Victorian), yeah. I\u2019ve played here since I was 14 \u2013 I was part of a lot of Victorian teams all the way through and then was drafted out of the Sandy Dragons and St Kilda<\/a> City,\u201d he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cApparently they\u2019ve decided now that I\u2019m not eligible, so I\u2019m not playing unfortunately.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m pretty p*ssed about it, but I think there\u2019s been some changes to the criteria.<\/p>\n \u201cI would have loved to play for Victoria, but unfortunately it isn\u2019t happening.\u201d<\/p>\n