ADELAIDE coach Neil Craig has anointed his Port Adelaide counterpartMark Williams as the ideal man to coach South Australia should State of Originfootball return next year.

Craig described Williams, who is currently grieving after the death ofhis elderly mother Von Williams, as having "a right to do it" as an AFLpremiership coach and former player.

"I think there are more qualified people than myself to do that," Craigsaid in response to whether or not he would be interested in coachingSA.

"I think Mark Williams would have a right to do it - a premiershipcoach, played in the AFL for a long period of time.

"I think he'd do a great job."

Most speculation about the prospect of state of origin as a way tocelebrate the 150th anniversary of Australian football next year has featuredthe idea of a pre-season series instead of the NAB Cup.

However, Craig argued a program of that kind would bring its ownproblems, with players unable to find form or fitness in the new year prior tothe showcase fixtures.

"It could (be a problem) because you bring players along at differentspeeds in their preparation - if you knew you had a state of origin game or twoin that period of the year, they may not be ready," he said.

"The other thing is selection - how do you know who's in form? One ofthe great things about state of origin is you get the best players, who are inform, playing.

"So it's hard to pick players who haven't played, if you're picking onform, and I think it's important to do that."