RunningBounce
Premiership Player
- Jun 12, 2013
- 4,484
- 10,142
- AFL Club
- Richmond
Each week we take a look at one past player, if you want to contributed, visit this thread and post your interest.
Maurice Rioli
I don’t know exactly what “footy smarts” are, but I know Maurice Rioli had them. He was truly a big game player with the ability to turn a match. His time with Richmond was all too short, and peppered with controversy. Someone really should make a film about the bloke.
Brownlow: Runner up, 1983, 1 vote behind Ross Glendenning
Norm Smith Medal:1982
Richmond Best and Fairest: 1982 and 1983.
All Australian: 1983, 1986, 1988
Nominated as top 10 Class of the Century in the 100 Tiger Treasures
WA Representative: 5 times between 1983-1987 (every year he was a Tiger), a total of 13 times
Rioli was from Melville Island, NT, and part of a famous football family. He was uncle to Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn) and Dean Rioli (Essendon). He was strongly built, weighing 85kg at 176 cm (5 foot 9).
His older brother, Sebastin, was one of the first indigenous players from NT to play in the WAFL, and Maurice joined him at South Fremantle in 1975. He played 121 games, including 3 consecutive Grand Finals (1979, 1980 and 1981), with a premiership in 1980 coached by former Tiger Mal Brown. Maurice Rioli won the Simpson Medal as best on ground in the 1980 and 1981 grand finals. I can’t find stats for 1981, but in the 1980 GF, Rioli had 14 kicks, 7 marks, 19 handballs, and 2 goals. Fair game.
Rioli was recruited to Punt Road in 1982, and played 118 games for Richmond from 1982 to 1987. He kicked an amazing 80 goals from 113 scoring shots.
In the 1982 Grand Final, he became the first player to win the Norm Smith Medal in a losing side. Only 4 players have achieved that in the 36 grand finals that the medal has been awarded.
When Rioli came to the Tigers as the best centreman in the country, he found himself on the same team as Geoff Raines, the best centreman in the VFL. Raines had also won the B&F the 2 previous seasons (1980 and 1981). The coach, Francis Bourke, picked Rioli in the centre, most games. He played alongside other midfielder stars like Dale Weightman and Barry Rowlings.
Through no fault to Rioli, his presence at the club might have contributed to some off-field instability. In 1983, Raines asked for a pay increase that was knocked back. He left Richmond to join Collingwood, much to the ire of administrator Graham Richmond. GR then embarked on the famous “Trade Wars”, that saw many good players depart Punt Road, with some under-performing players brought in. It was the beginning of many lean years for the club.
The end of Rioli’s time at Punt Road was also controversial. Geoffrey Edelstein bought the Swans in 1985, and vowed to fill their list with the biggest names in the game in 1986. Rioli was given a lucrative contract, but apparently, never appeared for training. It’s hard to figure out what actually happened. Some reports state that he moved to Sydney with his family, living in a hotel. At the same time, a Perth Supreme Court heard civil action by South Fremantle, who claimed Rioli was tied by a three year contract to them until the end of 1987. In the ensuing shitfight, Rioli was linked by the media to Essendon and St Kilda. Whether he was contracted to Richmond, South Fremantle or Sydney, the upshot was that the Sydney Swans were fined $20k for poaching and Rioli played for Richmond in 1986 and 1987.
He was selected in the state team for WA 13 times, and was captain in 1987, playing against teammate Dale Weightman, who captained Victoria.
He returned to South Fremantle in 1988, and played until the end of 1989 as captain. Taking a step down in the level of football that he played, Rioli moved to the Northern Territory in 1990, playing in Darwin until 1991, and coached for 2 seasons after that.
Outside of football, he was elected into the Legislative Assembly (NT parliament) for the seat of Arafura in 1992. His opponent, fellow Tiwi Islander Bernard Tipiloura, called Rioli a “yella fella”, and ran the slogan “Put a ceremony man into government”, suggesting that Rioli’s heritage wasn’t “black enough”. After winning the election, Rioli showed much dignity, saying “Look, I respect the man [Tipiloura]. Before the final votes had been cast, I went up to him and shook his hand. I don’t think there is any ill-feeling between us”.
Rioli had his flaws, as we all do. Rioli remorsefully admitted to pawning parliamentary property, including a bar fridge and other furniture, to raise the money to get to the AFL grand final. He had been invited to the MCG to present the Norm Smith Medal in 1993, which was won by fellow Territorian, Michael Long. Apparently, Rioli was broke due to gambling at the time, but couldn’t turn down the invitation.
YouTube footage specifically of the best Rioli playing footy is hard to find (plenty on Cyril, who isn't bad, but just wears the wrong colours.)
The sort of repeat efforts he was known for vs Essendon at the start, followed by a game winning burst vs Hawthorn -
Tribute from Richmond on his passing. Check out the tackling at 1:05.
If you have the patience, Rioli slots the type of game-turning goal that he often produced at 3:23 in this package of WAFL highlights from 1979. (It's worth watching to see the amazing calibre of the WAFL at that time. Ken Hunter screamers, Krakour brothers magic...)
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Rioli
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Football_Club
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/club/history/chronology
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2...presentative-games-while-playing-for-richmond
Tony Greenburg, Talking Tigers podcast 2014, Round 4 episode
Accessed on Trove, http://trove.nla.gov.au/
21 February 1986, The Canberra Times
9 Nov 1992, The Canberra Times
15 Oct 1993, The Canberra Times
Maurice Rioli
Honours :
Brownlow: Runner up, 1983, 1 vote behind Ross Glendenning
Norm Smith Medal:1982
Richmond Best and Fairest: 1982 and 1983.
All Australian: 1983, 1986, 1988
Nominated as top 10 Class of the Century in the 100 Tiger Treasures
WA Representative: 5 times between 1983-1987 (every year he was a Tiger), a total of 13 times
His story
Rioli was from Melville Island, NT, and part of a famous football family. He was uncle to Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn) and Dean Rioli (Essendon). He was strongly built, weighing 85kg at 176 cm (5 foot 9).
His older brother, Sebastin, was one of the first indigenous players from NT to play in the WAFL, and Maurice joined him at South Fremantle in 1975. He played 121 games, including 3 consecutive Grand Finals (1979, 1980 and 1981), with a premiership in 1980 coached by former Tiger Mal Brown. Maurice Rioli won the Simpson Medal as best on ground in the 1980 and 1981 grand finals. I can’t find stats for 1981, but in the 1980 GF, Rioli had 14 kicks, 7 marks, 19 handballs, and 2 goals. Fair game.
Rioli was recruited to Punt Road in 1982, and played 118 games for Richmond from 1982 to 1987. He kicked an amazing 80 goals from 113 scoring shots.
In the 1982 Grand Final, he became the first player to win the Norm Smith Medal in a losing side. Only 4 players have achieved that in the 36 grand finals that the medal has been awarded.
When Rioli came to the Tigers as the best centreman in the country, he found himself on the same team as Geoff Raines, the best centreman in the VFL. Raines had also won the B&F the 2 previous seasons (1980 and 1981). The coach, Francis Bourke, picked Rioli in the centre, most games. He played alongside other midfielder stars like Dale Weightman and Barry Rowlings.
Through no fault to Rioli, his presence at the club might have contributed to some off-field instability. In 1983, Raines asked for a pay increase that was knocked back. He left Richmond to join Collingwood, much to the ire of administrator Graham Richmond. GR then embarked on the famous “Trade Wars”, that saw many good players depart Punt Road, with some under-performing players brought in. It was the beginning of many lean years for the club.
The end of Rioli’s time at Punt Road was also controversial. Geoffrey Edelstein bought the Swans in 1985, and vowed to fill their list with the biggest names in the game in 1986. Rioli was given a lucrative contract, but apparently, never appeared for training. It’s hard to figure out what actually happened. Some reports state that he moved to Sydney with his family, living in a hotel. At the same time, a Perth Supreme Court heard civil action by South Fremantle, who claimed Rioli was tied by a three year contract to them until the end of 1987. In the ensuing shitfight, Rioli was linked by the media to Essendon and St Kilda. Whether he was contracted to Richmond, South Fremantle or Sydney, the upshot was that the Sydney Swans were fined $20k for poaching and Rioli played for Richmond in 1986 and 1987.
He was selected in the state team for WA 13 times, and was captain in 1987, playing against teammate Dale Weightman, who captained Victoria.
He returned to South Fremantle in 1988, and played until the end of 1989 as captain. Taking a step down in the level of football that he played, Rioli moved to the Northern Territory in 1990, playing in Darwin until 1991, and coached for 2 seasons after that.
Outside of football, he was elected into the Legislative Assembly (NT parliament) for the seat of Arafura in 1992. His opponent, fellow Tiwi Islander Bernard Tipiloura, called Rioli a “yella fella”, and ran the slogan “Put a ceremony man into government”, suggesting that Rioli’s heritage wasn’t “black enough”. After winning the election, Rioli showed much dignity, saying “Look, I respect the man [Tipiloura]. Before the final votes had been cast, I went up to him and shook his hand. I don’t think there is any ill-feeling between us”.
Rioli had his flaws, as we all do. Rioli remorsefully admitted to pawning parliamentary property, including a bar fridge and other furniture, to raise the money to get to the AFL grand final. He had been invited to the MCG to present the Norm Smith Medal in 1993, which was won by fellow Territorian, Michael Long. Apparently, Rioli was broke due to gambling at the time, but couldn’t turn down the invitation.
Rioli died too young, at 53, after suffering a heart attack in 2010. He was given a state funeral.
In 2016, he was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame. I personally take it as acknowledgement of the esteem that although 5 other fine players were also inducted at the same time, the main story the Herald Sun ran the next day was about Maurice. “(We are) Very proud, long-awaited, but enjoyable. The family is loving it,” Rioli’s son Gavin said upon accepting the award for his father. “He’s one of the players from the old days who you could put into modern football because he set the standards by getting 12-15 tackles per game like they do now.”
Footage of Maurice
In 2016, he was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame. I personally take it as acknowledgement of the esteem that although 5 other fine players were also inducted at the same time, the main story the Herald Sun ran the next day was about Maurice. “(We are) Very proud, long-awaited, but enjoyable. The family is loving it,” Rioli’s son Gavin said upon accepting the award for his father. “He’s one of the players from the old days who you could put into modern football because he set the standards by getting 12-15 tackles per game like they do now.”
Footage of Maurice
YouTube footage specifically of the best Rioli playing footy is hard to find (plenty on Cyril, who isn't bad, but just wears the wrong colours.)
The sort of repeat efforts he was known for vs Essendon at the start, followed by a game winning burst vs Hawthorn -
Tribute from Richmond on his passing. Check out the tackling at 1:05.
If you have the patience, Rioli slots the type of game-turning goal that he often produced at 3:23 in this package of WAFL highlights from 1979. (It's worth watching to see the amazing calibre of the WAFL at that time. Ken Hunter screamers, Krakour brothers magic...)
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Rioli
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Football_Club
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/club/history/chronology
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2...presentative-games-while-playing-for-richmond
Tony Greenburg, Talking Tigers podcast 2014, Round 4 episode
Accessed on Trove, http://trove.nla.gov.au/
21 February 1986, The Canberra Times
9 Nov 1992, The Canberra Times
15 Oct 1993, The Canberra Times
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