Richmond young gun Daniel Rioli is hopeful he will be back in action for this year’s Dreamtime clash
HE’S been out of action since Richmond’s drought-breaking flag. Seven months later Daniel Rioli still doesn’t know when he will be back on the MCG. He opens up about his injury, lonely rehab and pushing for the Dreamtime game.
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DANIEL Rioli is confident that the “frustrating” effects of his debilitating Grand Final injury are almost behind him and he remains hopeful of playing in the team’s Round 11 Dreamtime clash with Essendon.
But there remains no official timeline for any return.
Rioli, 21, broke his ankle late in the drought-breaking flag win and endured two bouts of surgery — his first long-term injury.
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He has been cautious in his recovery and has refused to be drawn on a firm return date, but is adamant that it will not be far away after Richmond firmed in favouritism to claim a second consecutive premiership.
“It goes slow and takes its time, but I feel like it’s getting closer and closer every day now so fingers crossed I’ll be back out there soon,” Rioli said.
“It’s been tough. I just want to be out there playing again.
“It’s frustrating just training and not playing games and watching your teammates play. I just want to be out there playing again and hopefully it’s soon. I just can’t wait.”
The June 2 Dreamtime at the ‘G is one that Rioli is holding out hope of being ready for.
“Hopefully I get the chance to play that round. It’s a tough one, but it’s always a great time to pull on the jumper ... and represent your people from back home,” he said.
“I can’t wait to pull on the jumper again and hopefully that’s coming soon.”
Rioli — who has rejoined his teammates at training in recent weeks — lives with coach Damien Hardwick and his family, and said he was well looked after in the months following his surgeries “especially at dinner time”.
The first operation was to insert plates and screws to stabilise his ankle — which left him unable to walk throughout premiership celebrations — with the second to remove them.
Rehabilitation has at times proven lonely, but he credited his teammates for regularly boosting his spirits amid what he said was a testing period as he dealt with the long process of managing a major injury for the first time in his career.
“It was pretty hard times as well, just sitting on the couch and knowing that you’re not going to be fully fit (for a long time),” he said.
“I sat on the couch for about five or six months without training or running and thinking my return, it was going to be hard to get fit again. It’s been pretty frustrating as well, trying to get that fitness back.
“Now I’m just waiting for the bones to get stronger again. I feel like it’s already stronger now so it’s just time. Time is key. Just taking it day by day like they always say.
“But now I feel like I’m really close. It’s all paid off.”
The Tigers sit atop the ladder and have dropped just one game so far this season, with the team’s promising start to the season having spurred Rioli further to get back into the action.
Rioli joined forces with Essendon counterpart Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti — who also hails from the Tiwi Islands “where you’d get 50 people watching games” — to launch the two clubs’ Dreamtime guernseys ahead of their Round 11 meeting at the MCG.
Richmond’s, which was designed by Robert Young, features a spear and shield to “provide protection for the warrior”.
“(McDonald-Tipungwuti) grew up on Bathurst Island and I grew up on Melville Island,” Rioli explained.
“We all know each other — we’re family. He moved away … I was a bit younger then but I still remember him moving away from home to pursue his dream.
“He did it tough, missed a few drafts ... he finally got the opportunity and is playing good footy. It’s always a great time playing against him when I do get the chance. It’s always good to have two Tiwi boys going at it and I’m sure the Tiwi Islands will be cheering for their two players.”
BEHIND THIS YEAR’S DREAMTIME JUMPERS
RICHMOND’S vibrant Dreamtime guernsey sees the traditional sash replaced by a spear.
And designer Robert Young has also incorporated a shield as a symbol of protection.
The Tigers’ eighth Dreamtime jumper represents strength and connectedness, and symbolises the ground carvings of the borra grounds of initiation.
“The markings that run through this shield move together as one, but represent many journeys — the journeys of each person on this team, the journeys of each person of this country. It’s when they move together as one that the shield finds it strength,” Young said.
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The spear element on the front of the jumper is a representation of the relentless spirit that resides in all of us, helping us to overcome the hardships and challenges in our lives.
“We stand with resolve that no matter how many times we get knocked down, no matter how great the obstacles that lay before us, no matter the fear, the doubt, or the worry, we will get up time and time again, and we will feel the roar of our relentless spirit.”
Club chief executive Brendon Gale thanked Young for the “wonderful design” that he said incorporated an “important and meaningful story”.
Essendon’s guernsey has been designed by 17-year-old Rina Moreen.
The teenager is from Milikapiti — on the Tiwi Islands — and also plays football herself.
“The Dreamtime game is always a match I really look forward to,” Bombers star Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti said.
“Every game you want to get up and going and help your team win but this game in particular is very special and you want to make the most of it.”
“The boys and myself came to the agreement that we would chose Rina’s design for this year’s Dreamtime guernsey. The artwork tells a story and it’s very special to see myself and teammates wearing it and celebrating my culture.”
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