Football won on Saturday night, and the other half of the equation is obvious now for the AFL

Maybe the weekend’s simplest and purest snap judgment came from Michael Walters - "Football wins".

As we sat on the couch on Saturday night to watch the Indigenous All-Stars game my 12-year-old son said unprompted, “It’s great to have footy back”.

It was a proud parenting moment. It was great to have footy back.

Better still… this was the opposite to the footy we normally settle for at this time of year – when we’re just gagging for any taste of it.

Unusually for February what happened at Optus Stadium was fast and skilful… so pleasing to the eye.

But that wasn’t quite it. What made it distinct? It was joyful and meaningful. It meant something to the players involved.

Something more than getting the requisite miles in the legs and gaining some touch and feel.

There are a few layers that made it special and there’s no underestimating how powerful the impact might be.

The past decade has been a complex time for the Indigenous members of the game. Raw numbers have diminished, and progress in the coaching ranks has been slow.

Incidents of racism persist both on and off the field. Institutional questions have arisen. A champion was hounded from the game.

We celebrate a Round where an icon of the past is brought forth and beautiful guernseys are paraded… and we satisfy ourselves that everything is alright.

But the Indigenous players themselves seek comfort and counsel in each other.... and that was the secret to Saturday night.

It meant so much to them to be together and to play together, and that’s the magic ingredient of representative footy.

It was clear in the way the All Stars played that this would be a career highlight for most involved and they were not going to waste that by going through the motions.

The celebration of culture… the guernsey… the chemistry and connection.

The pure skill of Bobby Hill. The sheer audacity of Izak Rankine. The deft touch of Tyson Stengle. The searing accuracy of Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera. The direction of Bradley Hill. The doggedness of Steven May. Jason Horne-Francis on the burst. The swarming pressure of Jase Burgoyne, Cal Ah Chee and Joel Jeffrey.

And the free-spirited celebrations that were an intricate part of the night How could that not light the imagination?

There was another element not to be missed. Clearly, the environment created around the collective provided safety and comfort.

Tim Kelly and Kozzie Pickett spoke with rare honesty about their circumstances.

Jy Simpkin let the emotions of his grandfather’s passing pour forth.

Who knows what the connection might do for Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s current struggles?

These aren’t typically the markers of February footy.

Among the joy at home on the couch was seeing how quickly you could recognise the players all jumbled together in different colours and combinations.

And tell me you didn’t feel a surge of pride as the players from your club shone through.

That was the throwback to representative footy of old.

Almost 38,000 were drawn to the occasion… a tremendous endorsement of the footy fans of Perth.

I reckon it would’ve attracted more once you’d seen how it played out.

So this was one half of a great idea. The debate on Saturday morning was whether the format favoured the real team – with its inherent structures and familiarity – or the special occasion team that might only get this opportunity together once.

The answer was comprehensive. Fremantle played February footy. They wanted to put nothing on display to be studied, and fair enough.

They chose to be vanilla and carried it off convincingly.

There are extravagant assessments of the Dockers – classic February is – they’ll win the flag, they have the best list, they’ll have the best tall forward pairing in the game.

All power to those who have to make those assessments at this time of year… they may very well prove right.

But I’ll be slow to Fremantle. They don’t shape as world-beaters to me. But that’s by the by.

This was one half of a great idea. What could the other half look like?

At the same time on Saturday night, the NRL had its Indigenous team play its Maori team, both drawing on the same themes in their own way.

But it sacrificed the showpiece aspect for raw competitiveness. It was a 10-6 scoreline line and the Maoris celebrated their defence… when the occasion probably demanded something a bit more showy.

What’s the other half of the equation for the AFL?

Garry Lyon was right last week… it’s an Origin team.

A rare opportunity across a career to wear the jumper in a game that has some meaning – not in terms of result but chemistry and connection and honour.

The Indigenous All-Star team showed it is possible to play a game with intensity and skill in preparation for a season without compromising the long campaign ahead.

It had pressure, tactical nuance and razzle-dazzle.

I’ll bet there’s more than one player in September who refers back to this week as the bedrock of a successful season.

Ahead of the game the AFL boldly stated the ambition to lift its live attendance beyond 10 million fans in a season.

Event games are the key to that. They were shown on Saturday night the right representative formula has a place.

And not for the first time our Indigenous players showed us the way.