AFL’s decision not to fine, suspend Willie Rioli for Bailey Dale social media threat leaves clubs fed up

The AFL’s decision not to sanction Willie Rioli for threatening a fellow player flies in the face of precedent set by punishing players for middle-finger salutes, and Mad Mondays – and clubs are fed up, writes Jay Clark.

The AFL has a player punishment problem which stretches well beyond Port Adelaide’s Willie Rioli.

The Power goal kicker is officially the luckiest player in football after he escaped sanction for threatening Western Bulldogs’ defender Bailey Dale about leaving his hotel room in Darwin this weekend.

Rioli said he had lots of mates in the Top End and Dale better not go out.

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That garbage has brought ridicule on Rioli who looks silly rather than any sort of tough guy.

But the headache isn’t only Port Adelaide’s.

Clubs around the league couldn’t have rolled their eyes more quickly at the light and fluffy statement from the league on Monday night saying there was nothing to see here because Rioli and Dale had broken bread over the matter.

Willie Rioli is in hot water over his message to a Bulldogs player. Picture: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images.

Somehow, Rioli got off scot-free.

At the very least, the two clubs and league officials wasted a full day dealing with the most ludicrous saga of the season on Monday after the Herald Sun broke the story.

Don’t for a second underestimate Port Adelaide’s disappointment on the matter after trying hard to counsel Rioli on the use of social media while trying to support him personally and culturally after the Hawthorn racism blow-up last month.

Another social media infraction will certainly cost Rioli a playing suspension or financial penalty, and Power chiefs have been clear with the forward about off-field expectations over the past 24 hours.

But the AFL had a chance to be firm with Rioli for the threat on Monday, and chose to look in the other direction.

Clearly, there are sensitive personal issues to take into account and one of the most respected analysts in the game, Melbourne champion Garry Lyon, noted Rioli was playing “angry” this year on Fox Footy’s AFL360. Perhaps he needs a spell, Lyon said. A worthy suggestion.

But some of the game’s most senior club officials believe the league is making it up as they go along on the player punishment front.

Whether it is the GWS Giants’ inappropriate dress-ups, the homophobic slurs from last year, Ken Hinkley’s plane jibe, or Nick Watson and Bailey Smith’s middle-finger salutes, the league was quick to flash its badge on the standards and behaviours expected of its stars and coaches.

The whopping fines and considerable suspensions were strong at a time when the Players’ and Coaches Associations, among others, are calling on the AFL to come up with a better framework to help govern and deal with these off-field indiscretions.

Something which helps the league come down with more consistency and clarity on players getting into trouble across the weekend rather than arbitrary outcomes like the four-match suspension for Giant Josh Fahey for inappropriate acts on a sex doll and the three-match suspension to Port’s Jeremy Finlayson for his homophobic slur.

As one senior figure said tongue in cheek, would the GWS players have received a lesser penalty if they did a line of cocaine?

So, if those GWS dress-up penalties were firm, why does Rioli get nothing for making a serious threat about Dale’s personal safety interstate this weekend?

It is guesswork.

Bulldog Bailey Dale after an incident with Willie Rioli. Picture: Michael Klein

Some would say Port and the Dogs handled the Rioli issue maturely and sensitively as the two clubs came together on the issue and the apology was genuine, we are told.

But it doesn’t stack up with the infraction notices served last year.

Each time there was a homophobic slur last season the league increased the penalty.

And Geelong coach Chris Scott effectively called the league out in his press conference last week saying AFL chiefs were hypocritical in their approach sanctioning Hinkley and then plastering him across every Gather Round billboard and TV advertisement in April.

Scott, who wields the biggest stick in the coaching fraternity, went unpunished for his comebacks on the Smith front because there is no way the league would take on the dual premiership coach in a full-scale public debate because his tactical intelligence stretches well beyond the clipboard.

When it comes to football discourse, Scott sets the agenda more than anyone across the league, and has to be one of the most influential senior figures in the game.

Chris Scott has been a vocal critic of the league’s inconsistencies. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

And he is unafraid to crash-tackle the league amid frustrations around the AFL’s disrespect to the coaching community about the soft cap cuts.

The Cats may have the best player-driven culture in the league and are the most attractive club in the competition when it comes to landing the best players in the exchange period each year.

And they haven’t fined a player in donkeys, and never under Scott, it seems.

When Tyson Stengle passed out in a nightclub last year, rather than suspend and shame him the following week, the club made sure every player in the club’s central corridor gave him a hug when they passed him.

And by the end of the first day back he felt so loved he was ready to pull the boots on again for the blue and white hoops, helping eliminate any embarrassment he felt.

And he played well.

That is how the Cats do their business, and Port has tried to support Rioli in similar ways, albeit in different circumstances. But a third social media strike won’t be tolerated.

Willie Rioli is on thin ice over his use of social media. Picture: Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos/via Getty Images.

What the Players’ Association wants is a stronger framework around off-field misbehaviour and penalties so there is an emphasis on education and more certainty and transparency when it comes to handling these sorts of issues.

The player union has been concerned for a long time that the AFL’s conduct unbecoming clause lacks structure, accountability and any consistency.

The PA wants something in concrete which addresses severity and intent as part of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2027, but the league hasn’t come to the table in talks yet.

It was agreed the code would be revised before now, and in particular establishing proper processes for dealing with disciplinary matters, notifying players and the rights of the players to challenge any decision and code compliance, and creating protocols around conduct which may be criminal.

Until there is more clarity and structure on these matters, there will be continued inconsistency, and players could continue to be treated differently.

But what happens next is, quite literally, anyone’s guess.

Originally published as AFL’s decision not to fine, suspend Willie Rioli for Bailey Dale social media threat leaves clubs fed up