Dean Rioli

Dean Rioli (born 20 May 1978) is an indigenous former Australian rules football player who spent his whole professional career with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League.

The nephew of Maurice Rioli, the Richmond Football Club champion of the 1980s, Rioli grew up on the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory, but was recruited from the South Fremantle Football Club in the 1998 Rookie Draft.

AFL career

He is renowned for his goal sense, silky skills and his ability to play well even when overweight and unfit. Rioli had ongoing injury problems (particularly knee-related) for many years, severely limiting his games played and the level of fitness he was able to attain.^{[citation needed]}

During his final season in 2006, Rioli battled injury problems and only played four games.^{[citation needed]}

Retirement from AFL

Dean Rioli played his last game for the Essendon Football Club on 26 August 2006. It was also his 100th AFL game.

Post AFL career

Following his retirement, Rioli returned to the Northern Territory to play in the Northern Territory Football League with the Tiwi Bombers, where he became a solid contributor and on-field leader.^{[citation needed]}

In October 2008 Rioli was appointed senior coach for 2009 at the Aberfeldie Football Club, in the Essendon District Football League. Prior to this he was an assistant coach, a role he also performed in 2006 at the Keilor Park Football Club. Rioli continued as senior coach at Aberfeldie in 2010 but stepped down at the end of the home and away season. He was succeeded by John McMillan who has been announced as the new Senior Coach of the club.

In a work move very dear to his heart, Dean runs the company DRAES which stands for Dean Rioli Aboriginal Employment Services. Based in Essendon, a suburb of Melbourne, it specialises in finding the right type of job for indigenous people.

From early 2012 onward, Dean has been a politician in the Northern Territory government, going from community to community during the months of June and July. The election soon after proved to be unsuccessful for the party that Dean is a part of. Though, after this he still receives support from his peers, and from his family who have helped him from every aspect in his life so far. The support is what keeps him going, and is what drives him to go further with his life.

External links

• Player Profile
• Dean Rioli's statistics from AFL Tables