Maurice Rioli
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| Personal Info | |
|---|---|
| Birth | September 1, 1957, Melville Island, Northern Territory |
| Recruited from | South Fremantle |
| Height/Weight | 175cm / 73kg |
| Playing Career¹ | |
| Debut | 20 March 1982, Richmond vs. Fitzroy, at Waverley Park |
| Team(s) | Richmond (1982-1987)
118 games, 80 goals |
| ¹ Statistics to end of 2006 season | |
| Career Highlights | |
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Maurice Rioli (born 1 September 1957 at Melville Island, Northern Territory) was an Australian rules football player for the Richmond Tigers in the Australian Football League and politician in the Northern Territory.
Regarded as one of the great players of his era, Rioli was one of the first aboriginal footballers to have a significant impact on Victorian football and was named in the centre for the Indigenous Team of the Century. A highly skilled and solidly built centreman with exquisite ball-handling skills and lightening reflexes, Rioli was a renown performer on the big stage.
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[edit] Early Days
Born into a famous footballing family on Melville Island off the coast of the Northern Territory, the young Rioli learnt the game at the Garden Point Orphanage on the island. From there, he joined St Marys in the Darwin competition for the 1974-75 season; football in the top end is played during the summer months to avoid the wet season. Scouts from the South Fremantle club in Perth spotted the eighteen year old tyro and lured him to West Australia to join his brother for the coming season. At this stage in his sporting life, Rioli was also an excellent amateur boxer, who some thought good enough to go to represent Australia at the Olympics. He later won state amateur titles at light middleweight and welterweight.
However, he chose to sign on as a professional footballer and quickly won a reputation as brilliant, elusive centreman. During this era, Rioli was one of a number of brilliant aboriginal players in the WAFL who caught the eyes of recruiting scouts from the VFL clubs in Victoria. Eventually, Rioli signed with Richmond, although the wait to see Rioli in yellow and black would stretch to several years. South Fremantle, under ex-Richmond player Mal Brown, were the glamour team of the competition, winning a premiership in 1980, when Rioli won the Simpson medal as best player afield in the Grand Final. He won the same award the following year when his team went down to Claremont, and then transferred to Richmond at the advanced age of 24 on a large contract. His new club also had to fork out a substantial transfer fee to South Fremantle to complete the deal.
[edit] Immediate Impact In Victoria
To this point, few aboriginal players had had extended careers in the VFL. On his arrival, which coincided with the transfer of the Krakeour brothers to North Melbourne, Rioli spoke about the racial taunts and obstacles faced by indigenous players in the game. Rioli chose to shrug much of the racism off, and he was certainly possessed with an intense concentration on the field. His reputation as a boxer probably helped to avoid confrontation during a game - Rioli was a scrupulously fair competitor who found no trouble with the umpires.
The Tigers awarded Rioli the number 17 made famous by Jack Dyer. Richmond supporters quickly warmed to their much-heralded recruit, who specialised in the audacious baulk, the pinpoint foot pass and the lightening-fast handball. His ability to work the ball out of packs and congestion was uncanny. Although his leg speed wasn't very fast, his quick mind appeared several steps ahead of the play and he had no problem adjusting to the faster tempo of Victorian football.
This was as well, because the Tigers opted to play him in his favoured centre position where Geoff Raines had dominated. For the previous five years, Raines was the best player in the team (winning three best and fairest awards) and acknowledged the best centreman in the competiton, but he was moved to accommodate Rioli. The change worked well and Richmond finished the season on top of the ladder for the first time since 1974. The Tigers booked a berth in the Grand Final with a comfortable win in the semi final against Carlton.
Pitted once more against Carlton, Richmond went into the big match as a slight favourite. However, the Tigers lost the match after leading at half-time. Rioli created history by winning the Norm Smith medal as best afield, the first aborigine and first player from a losing team to do so. Shortly after, Rioli won the club's best and fairest to cap an amazing first season. But problems lay immediately ahead. Raines approached the club and requested a contract commensurate with Rioli's earnings. When refused, Raines walked out and asked for a clearance to Collingwood. Other prominent players fell into financial dispute with the club and left; the decimated team struggled and finished third last in 1983.
But Rioli had another stellar season, again winning the best and fairest, finishing runner-up in the Brownlow medal and winning West Australian and All-Australian selection. An acknowledged star of the game and the best player at the club, Rioli continued to stand out in a mediocre team. He represented Australia at Gaelic football against Ireland and was an immediate choice for West Australia in state of origin matches. However, after finishing second in the Richmond best and fairest in 1985, he dropped a bombshell on the club.
[edit] Aborted Move to Sydney
In the summer of 1985-86, the new private owner of the Sydney Swans, Geoff Edelsten, had been frantically signing talent on massive contracts to play for his team. Rioli was announced as one of his many signings along with a couple of younger Tiger players. The VFL was desperately trying to reduce player wage inflation at this time as it was sending the clubs and the competition broke. It had just instigated a salary cap system in an attempt to rectify the problem.
It was the salary cap that saved Rioli from leaving for Sydney. He eventually returned to the Tigers in time for the 1986 season to find that his number had been allocated to a younger player. Given a higher number, Rioli performed patchily through the season and the next, when Richmond finished last for only the third time in its proud history. Rioli captained WA in the state game that year against his teammate Dale Weightman, who led Victoria.
[edit] Later Career
Still only 30 years of age, Rioli decided that his time in Melbourne was up and headed back to South Fremantle as captain. In his absence, the fotball landscape in the west had altered dramtically with the formation of the West Coast Eagles. Rioli opted to play at the lower level and the scheduling of seasons allowed him to captain-coach the Waratahs club in Darwin during the summer. He was still good enough to win All-Australian honours for a third time after the 1988 Bicentennial carnival. In 1990, he finished as a player in Perth after 166 games for South Fremantle, but continued as a player in Darwin until 1991. He followed that with a two year stint as non-playing coach of the Waratahs. In 1993, he was invited by the AFL to present the Norm Smith medal at the Grand Final. Fittingly, it was won by another Territorian Aborigine, Michael Long (Essendon) who had played at St Marys in Darwin, where Rioli had started his senior football a generation before.
[edit] Political Career
After permanently relocating with his family to Darwin, in 1992 Rioli was elected as the member for Arafura in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly for the Australian Labor Party. He held this position until 2001 when he retired from parliament. Although he played almost a decade in Perth and six years in Melbourne, today Rioli is recognisable as one of the best known Northern Territorians. He was a trailblazer for aboriginal players at the elite level of the game and is now an acknowledged elder staesman among aborigines to have played the game.
Currently, Rioli works as a Community Services manager for the Tiwi Islands Council. He recently turned down the offer of coaching the Super Tiwis a new side proposed for enter the Northern Territory Football League.
[edit] Reference
- Hogan P: The Tigers Of Old, Richmond FC, Melbourne 1996
[edit] External Links
| Preceded by Bruce Doull |
Norm Smith Medallist 1982 |
Succeeded by Colin Robertson |
| Preceded by Geoff Raines |
Richmond Best and Fairest winner 1982-83 |
Succeeded by Mark Lee |
| Preceded by Stan Tipiloura |
Member for Arafura 1992-2001 |
Succeeded by Marion Scrymgour |
