PAUL Roos says playing for Victoria in State of Origin was one of the greatest highlights of his career, but how representative football fits into the calendar remains a tough situation.

Roos, who was one of Victoria’s greatest players, featuring in 14 matches from 1985-93, said it would be difficult to replicate the era from 1977-99, when it was played each year.

“I think they could bring it back, but it’s never going to be the same, because you’ve got two teams in Adelaide and Western Australia etc. It’s just hard to do that,” he told Dee TV.

“I think State of Origin exists for us every week. You see great crowds in Adelaide at the new stadium there and you see great crowds at Freo and West Coast, so we get State of Origin – we just get it in a different way.”

With the second rugby league State of Origin match played between New South Wales and Queensland at the MCG on Wednesday, Roos said he understood the question of whether representative football should be played in the AFL again. 

“People say bring it back and say ‘should it be played again in AFL?’ It’s a tradition that’s endured in rugby league and it’s a great tradition for them and something that’s well past us,” he said.

“But certainly when I look back on my time, it was as special as what the Queensland and New South Wales boys will have gone through [in the rugby league].

“To lace up for Victoria was one of the most special moments you could get in a career. Back then, the games were played in great spirit and passion and it was very exciting to be a part of.”

Meanwhile, Roos said this Sunday’s clash against Geelong at Simonds Stadium was another “real opportunity to get better”.

“That’s going to be the theme for the week – we’re playing against a team that’s in good form,” he said.

“[Geelong’s] Corey Enright plays his 300^th game, which is a terrific effort and he’s been an exceptional player. There will be some celebrations down there for the crowd and a player that was revered down there.

“It’s great for us to go down on a big occasion and hopefully play some pretty good footy.” 

Roos said plenty had been learned from the “mixed emotions” that came out of the two-point loss to St Kilda at Etihad Stadium last Sunday.

“We did so many things well. I think our last two weeks, certainly from an effort point of view and overall performance, have been really solid against Collingwood and St Kilda,” he said.

“St Kilda fully deserved to win the game – they’re in a similar position to us in terms of age and where they are – but when you get so close and you get in front, we should’ve done a better job in that last 41 seconds.

“Having said that, St Kilda can be well pleased with the way they played and executed in the final minutes of the game.”

Roos said the review of the match went into detail about what the players and coaches could have done better.

“We got through it and analysed it from a coaching point of view and then from a players’ point of view,” he said.

“We talked about the communication and worked out what we could’ve done better as a coaching group, and then put it back on the players and what they could’ve done better as well.

“It was pretty thorough and while it was frustrating, it was just part of the learning experience for the group.”