Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley says Willie Rioli ban has put players on notice over sledging

Port coach Ken Hinkley says the landscape has shifted after Willie Rioli’s ban for threats against opposition players as he conceded his forward needs to change.

Port Adelaide Ken Hinkley says the AFL has issued a “warning” and opposition players “won’t go there” when it comes to sledging Willie Rioli in the wake of his one-match ban for delivering on and off-field threats to three opponents in the past 12 months.

Rioli withdrew from Saturday’s showdown against the Adelaide Crows in the wake of an AFL investigation that landed on the ban having initially issued just a warning after revelations he sent a message to Western Bulldogs defender Bailey Dale warning him to be careful in Darwin this week.

The AFL became aware of multiple instances involving the small forward who declared it was “best for me and the team that I take the break”.

Willie Rioli and Brad Close in 2024. Picture: Fox Footy

Port chairman David Koch declared the club was “incredibly angry” with Rioli but pointed to regular racial abuse as a base for his reactions.

He could return for next week’s clash with Geelong, confronting Cats star Brad Close, who was reportedly the victim of an on-field threat in 2024.

With that in mind, Hinkley, who conceded Rioli had to “get better” with his on-field behaviour and limited his involvement in the saga to “giving care to Willie”, cautioned against any opponents taking his player on given the fallout this week.

“I would doubt that anyone would go there with the stance the AFL has put in place around comments said on the field,” Hinkley said at his weekly press conference, which was moved to Friday as the club dealt with the Rioli situation.

“I just don’t think you would go there. Willie will get our support like he always has and Willie also has to learn. He knows that and he has publicly said that, he has to get better.”

Hinkley said he felt like the penalty was a “warning” to players but also that he wasn’t sure where the “boundaries are” when it comes to player interactions.

“It’s going to be some area of some concern for the AFL,” he said.

Willie Rioli has to be better, coach Ken Hinkley says. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Hinkley said he was fully supportive of the position having left the handling of the situation to his football boss, Chris Davies.

“I have been in this job for a long period of time and continually and do see and hear different things that get done and said,” he said.

“All I want to do is say I fully support our club’s position, I couldn’t support it any stronger.”

Rioli was absent from Port’s captain’s run on Friday and Hinkley said the forward had to “own the consequences” of his actions, and a potential return against Geelong was not at the forefront of his mind ahead of the clash with the Crows.

“From my point of view the most important thing is Willie is OK and he’s under control,” he said.

“We will support him and put his arms around him. He made a mistake, he knows that and he owns that and the consequences are known to everyone, so we move forward knowing that we are going to look after Willie.”

Originally published as Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley says Willie Rioli ban has put players on notice over sledging