West Coast Eagles forward Willie Rioli rejoins training amid ASADA investigation
Willie Rioli was sensationally withdrawn from the Eagles’ side during last year’s finals campaign after a drug testing irregularity. Despite facing a potentially lengthy ban he’s back at the club.
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West Coast coach Adam Simpson says the club welcomed back Willie Rioli with open arms as he rejoined training for the first time today, but admitted not even he knows what’s going to happen next.
The 24-year-old is facing a ban of up to four years after allegedly tampering with his urine sample in August during a routine drug test.
Rioli hadn’t trained with the club since the news broke in September, but today marked the first time he saw his teammates after returning from the Tiwi Islands.
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Simpson insisted his focus is firmly on reintegrating Rioli into the training group.
“My priority is Willie and making sure we’ve got the right support around for him,” Simpson said on Friday morning.
“It’s out of our control but what’s in our control is what we can do with him in the next week.
“The priority is his mental health and his wellbeing.
“It’s a good chance for him to speak to the players. Whether he can train or not we’ll work through that.”
The 2018 premiership coach said he was in the dark as much as fans and players over what happens next in the ASADA investigation.
“It’s really difficult for him to comment on the current situation with some legal proceedings in play,” Simpson said.
“As much as we’d love to get him up here and have a chat to you guys we just can’t.
“It would be great if you could respect his privacy to some degree.
“We’re in the dark as well, these processes take a long time.
“We understand there’s lots of questions – we have the same questions.
“We’re hoping we can give you as much information as possible. We know he can train with us and that’s about it.”
After four months away from the nest, Willie Rioli emerged for his first West Coast training session wearing his customary backwards cap and deep in conversation with teammate Liam Ryan.
Smiling and looking relaxed, he received a pat on the back from Andrew Gaff as the players lined up for warm-up drills.
Rioli shared a joke with ruckman Nic Naitanui before launching into a handball session.
The forward appeared to have collected little rust during his time away from the game, slotting his first attempt at goal and later latching on to a diving mark and offloading to a passing teammate while sliding along the ground.
If relationships with his fellow Eagles were left strained in the wake of Riloi’s suspension just days before a semi-final there was no evidence any animosity had carried over to the 2020 campaign.
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Simpson said Rioli has returned from his extended stint at home in good physical condition.
“He looks good – I’ve seen him worse!” Simpson laughed.
“He’s been doing some work up at home, so he looks okay.”
Simpson confirmed Rioli would address the playing group this morning, while the small forward told the club’s website he was looking forward to returning to training.
“It’s good to be back at the club and to see my teammates and staff,” Rioli said.
“The club has been really supportive over the past four months.
“I have been co-operating fully with the ongoing investigation and I will continue to do so. I cannot discuss any of the details. I am looking forward to getting back to some training.”