Maurice Rioli Jr is looking forward to hitting Punt Rd after joining the Tigers in the draft

He comes from the ultimate football royalty. What does Maurice Rioli Jr think about following in his father’s footsteps at the Tigers?

Archie Perkins with Andy McGrath at the AFL Draft.

Maurice Rioli Jr, the son of Richmond legend and 1982 Norm Smith medallist Maurice Rioli Snr, has told of his pride in following his dad’s footsteps to Tigerland.

Rioli Jr was taken at pick 51 in Wednesday’s AFL national draft, flew into Melbourne from Darwin this week and will join cousin and triple premiership player Daniel at Punt Rd.

He is expected to start training with the club’s first-to-fourth year players next week.

“I have a few memories of him. I don’t think he taught me footy, I can’t remember really, he used to take me to watch the footy in Darwin or back on the Islands, the local footy,” Rioli Jr told Nine newspapers.

“He would take us out hunting. I love fishing. I catch barras most of the time. Turtle you have to wait like an hour for them to get up and get them. Go shooting, shoot geese, magpie geese.

Watch the 2020 AFL Draft Live on Fox Footy on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your free trial now & start streaming instantly >

Maurice Rioli Jr is now a Tiger. Picture: Felicity Elliott/AFLNT Media.

“I watched a few highlights of dad, which was pretty good to see where I get my bits from him. I can see some bits. I don’t model myself on him. I’m more a small forward obviously and just – hard, I would say.” ’

Rioli Sr died on Christmas Day 2010, aged 53.

The 175cm Maurice Jr had been a border at Scotch College before the coronavirus crises and was good friends with schoolmate and No. 1 draft pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.

He has represented the Northern Territory in the NAB League and played for famous Darwin club St Mary’s last summer. It is not yet known what number he will wear at Richmond. Cousin Daniel wears his father’s famous No. 17.

Essendon made a bid to snatch Rioli Jr at the draft by nominating him at pick 51. But Richmond quickly matched the offer and took him as a father-son selection.

His dad is a club great with the Tigers as a three-time All-Australian, dual best and fairest and the first Indigenous player in the league to win a Norm Smith Medal.

Maurice Rioli Jr in action. Picture: Felicity Elliott/AFLNT Media.

St Mary’s co-captain Shannon Rioli told the Herald Sun earlier this year that Maurice Jr had the classic Rioli traits exhibited by his other cousins, ex-Hawthorn star Cyril and West Coast goalsneak Willie: fierce tackling, repeat efforts, pace and an eye for goals.

“He’s a jet,” Shannon said.

“We keep saying with every Rioli that comes through, but he could be the best of the lot.

“He’s already been doing stuff with Richmond and I know other teams would be keen on him — they’d be silly if they weren’t.

“We knew he was pretty handy and from a young age he was always better than most kids his age, but last season he did some pretty special things. The way he’s going, it’s looking like Richmond.”

The hype grew in February after Rioli kicked four goals in a best-on-ground performance in a semi-final for St Mary’s, where his father began his career.

HAVE BOMBERS FOUND DANIHER REPLACEMENT?

Essendon has pinned its faith on a pair of 200cm-plus athletic bookends and a midfield beast who got his wish to stay in his home state, using its best early draft haul to quell some of the unease over a post-season player exodus.

The Bombers resisted the temptation to trade away one of their three top-10 picks.

Instead, they invested heavily in a draft they believe can kickstart the club’s revival after losing Joe Daniher, Adam Saad and Orazio Fantasia.

After earlier matched bids involving other clubs pushed the Bombers’ hat-trick of picks slightly down to 8, 9 and 10, Essendon had little hesitation in choosing three Victorian under-18s players with those prized selections.

All three players had failed to play a game this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Bombers had already seen enough of them.

Essendon used pick 9 on 200cm Northern Knights key-position player Nik Cox, then chose dynamic Sandringham Dragons midfielder Archie Perkins with the following selection before choosing 202cm Gippsland Power defender Zach Reid at pick 10.

Cox and Perkins were two of the names on the Bombers’ whiteboard after a Zoom test run on Tuesday had AFL clubs wondering if the move was a ruse or mistake.

Essendon recruit Archie Perkins with new teammate Andy McGrath.

Cox boasts superb athleticism for a 200cm big man, having produced a stunning 2km time-trial at the recent Victorian combine. His father, Darryl, played 30 games for Fitzroy, Melbourne and Brisbane during the 1980s.

“I’m in another world at the moment,” Cox said on Fox Footy following his selection, which gives the Bombers a key forward/defender almost the same size as Daniher, whose speed and skills mean he can also be dangerous at ground level.

Perkins found himself at the centre of attention early on Wednesday when he said he had told some clubs he preferred to stay in Melbourne.

But the midfielder was relieved to be chosen by the Bombers, with the club believing he can make an immediate impression next year.

Zach Reid has landed at the Bombers.

“I’m just so stoked, I couldn’t be more excited,” Perkins said. “I can’t wait to get struck into things.”

He conceded it had been a “whirlwind” since his comments about wanting to stay in Melbourne, saying: “I’m just glad it is behind me now … I can move on now.”

Essendon was desperate to add a key defender to its list — given Michael Hurley and Cale Hooker are 30 and 32 respectively — and couldn’t have been more pleased to secure Reid as its third pick, at No. 10.

Reid is a versatile player who can play at both ends, but his agility and ball use reminds many draft watchers of Brisbane’s All-Australian defender Harris Andrews.

Reid said he preferred playing “down back”, but was happy “to play to my strengths … I can play at either end or in the ruck, but probably back is my best, I think.”