Tiger Daniel Rioli hopes cousin Willie Rioli is watching him in Grand Final
Richmond’s Daniel Rioli says his cousin Willie is in his thoughts as he prepares for the Grand Final, and he hopes to do him proud as more details emerge about the Eagle’s drug ban.
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Daniel Rioli hopes to do his exiled cousin proud in the Grand Final, saying the banned Eagle is in the best place possible.
It emerged on Tuesday that Rioli’s cousin and West Coast star Willie Rioli had failed an in-competition drug test, adding to allegations of urine substitution from a separate out-of-competition ASADA test last month.
Rioli has been provisionally suspended pending an infraction notice.
The cousins played against each other for the first time in Round 22, after Willie taught Daniel how to kick and tackle under a single street light on Melville Island in the Tiwi Islands, where Willie returned as the saga unfolded.
But while the young Tiger said the news had not derailed his preparations, his thoughts were certainly with his older cousin.
“I miss him and love him,” Rioli told the Herald Sun.
“I know he’ll be watching for sure.
“He’s surrounded by family at the moment and obviously is going through some tough times.
“But it is what it is. I just can’t wait to see him.
“First things first he’s surrounded by family and he loves that — that’s what he needs.
“I’ll hopefully do him proud.”
Rioli, who played in the Tigers’ 2017 premiership, said the week had been “pretty relaxed” at Punt Rd.
“I feel like because we’ve done it before and we know the drill leading up to it,” he said.
“My first Grand Final ... was a bit hyper. It was exciting. But because you’ve experienced it, it sort of relaxes you.
“We should be OK.”
It emerged this week that Rioli would have had to have taken marijuana only days before he tested positive following the Eagles elimination final, according to former WADA president John Fahey.
Fahey has revealed the threshold for cannabis was raised during his tenure to avoid positives for marijuana use weeks before match-day tests.
He says for players like Rioli to be found guilty of violations on match-day tests cannabis would have been taken 24-48 hours prior.
Fahey, who finished his term as WADA president in 2013, has told the Herald Sun he worried about whether AFL clubs had strong enough education programs for their players.
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The man who was president of the World Anti Doping Authority for six years said West Coast should be especially stringent about their education processes given the Ben Cousins saga.
“All players should know what a substance is and what they are allowed to do. If they don’t know, their club has let them down. There is absolute liability there,” Fahey said.
“There was an issue with cannabis and traces of it were being found some time afterwards.
“The reality of it is if you are a sportsman or footballer and you take it at a party on a Saturday night you can have traces in your system the following Saturday when tested at a game.
“You certainly aren’t increasing your performance. So the level was increased, the actual threshold was increased about five years ago. It was increased five-fold.
“In practical terms to have that in your system on match day you need to have taken it within 48 hours of game day or even closer.
“It has come back to a level where if it registers in your system it has to be taken or used close to match-day.”
AFL chief Gillon McLachlan said education about the drugs policy was extensive.
“It’s disappointing he’s made a couple of very poor decisions, he’s going to pay a price about that,” McLachlan said.
“ … I’m confident he was aware of the policy and rules, the process, we can educate, but in the end there is an accountability on the players for their decision making.
“We do our best, but individual accountability in the end rests with the player and people make mistakes.”
McLachlan would not be drawn on if cannabis should be a banned match-day drug.
“We can talk to and to WADA but that is ASADA/WADA issue about what’s on the banned list and what’s not on the banned list,” he said.
“We can all have our views but the reality is, it’s transparent and clear that on match day it’s on the banned list, whether it should or shouldn’t, other people can debate, it’s very clear that on match day it is.
While the league and the AFLPA insist player are aware of the code, they continue to flaunt it.
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Collingwood’s Lachie Keeffe and Josh Thomas, St Kilda’s Ahmed Saad, Fremantle’s Ryan Crowley and Collingwood’s Sam Murray have all been caught out and punished for violations.
A dozen Essendon players were eventually suspended for the peptides controversy that nearly brought the club to its knees.
Fahey remains sceptical about whether players are aware of the rules given so many suspensions.
“I don’t know what the AFL education program is. A few years ago it was pretty appalling,” he said.
“I went to a club through a board member and he asked if I would spend some time with his CEO. I asked him what he knew and he basically knew nothing.
“I gave him a run-down for the next 90 minutes and I haven’t seen any difficulties with that club which has developed a program to educate players.
“I don’t know what West Coast does but if any club should be conscious about drug-taking it would be West Coast in light of the Ben Cousins affair. All players should be aware of what the consequences are. The onus is on the player, not the club. But you would expect professional bodies like the AFL to have very good education programs.”
West Coast is adamant it has dramatically ramped up its education processes and overhauled its culture since those dramatic days, proud of its work at a club that won the 2018 premiership.
Originally published as Tiger Daniel Rioli hopes cousin Willie Rioli is watching him in Grand Final