St Mary’s captain Shannon Rioli says Maurice Rioli Jr’s humility – like his late great father – is his best asset ahead of AFL Combine

HIGHLY touted draft prospect Maurice Rioli Jr has all the tools at his disposal to succeed at AFL level, according to his cousin and St Mary’s captain Shannon Rioli. And humility is his best personality trait, which was taught to him by his late great father.

AFL draft prospect Maurice Rioli Jr playing for his junior club St Mary's. Picture: FELICITY ELLIOTT/AFLNT MEDIA

HIGHLY touted draft prosper Maurice Rioli Jr has all the tools at his disposal to succeed at AFL level, according to his cousin and St Mary’s captain Shannon Rioli.

Rioli – super impressed with the silky skills and attitude of the late great Maurice Rioli’s son – believes the sky is the limit for the 18-year-old Saints junior.

But it is the way he has been brought up – and the supportive environment around him in Melbourne – which will give him a great chance at getting drafted after Victoria’s 2020 Draft Combine.

That date is still to be confirmed due to lockdown coronavirus restrictions in the state.

AFL draft prospect Maurice Rioli Jr celebrates a goal for his junior club St Mary’s. Picture: FELICITY ELLIOTT/AFLNT MEDIA

“He (Maurice Jr) is lucky. He’s got a really good family looking after him in Melbourne,” Rioli told the NT News.

“Two of the boys go to Scotch College where he goes to school, and they’ve taken him in and looked after him.

“They’re a couple of hundred metres away from the school. So they’ve taken him in and given him a home away from home.

“And that’s even though he’s got Daniel (his cousin and Richmond star) and my brother Dean (former Essendon player and former Wanderers coach) lives in Melbourne as well.

“So he has that support base there.

“But with the lockdown in Melbourne he’s gone with that host family.

“They’ve taken him in and they’ve been really good for him.”

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All the signs are pointing to the fact Maurice Jr could well be on an AFL list next year.

“Jamarra Ugle-Hagan – everyone’s talking him up to be the No.1 Draft pick. Him and Maurice are in the same year level and the same boarding house,” Rioli said.

“They spend a lot of time together. Those two have been training alongside each other this whole time.

“They’ve been training pretty much since last year for this year.

“He’s been training with Richmond since last year as well.

“He’s in a really good space. He turned 18 recently, and he shares that with his father which is something really sad, but really special.”

Rioli said the grounding his legendary late father gave him – with career highlights including winning Richmond’s best-and-fairest award twice, a Norm Smith Medal in 1982, a WAFL premiership in 1980 and two Simpson Medals (best on ground in the WAFL Grand Final) and an AFL Indigenous Team of the Century member – made him the humble young man he is today.

“Everyone knows what legacy his dad had. And everyone knows what sort of person his dad was,” Rioli said.

“If you had’ve known who he was before you met my uncle Maurice you would just think ‘gee, what a wonderful, fascinating person’.

“And then you’d go away and think ‘gee, who was that Maurice Rioli? He’s a Norm Smith Medallist, two-time best and fairest, three best on grounds in a row (two WAFL Grand Finals in 1980 and 1981, followed by the VFL Grand Final in 1982).

“Just an amazing person, but super humble. And Maurice Jr is very much the same.

“He’s very well grounded. When he comes back to Darwin he goes to the Tiwi Islands and stays with his mum.

“He goes from the high life at Glenferrie Rd and Hawthorn to living in a house on the Tiwi Islands.

“It’s at Garden Point and it’s not that flash. So his feet are very firmly planted on the ground.”

With this mentality Maurice Jr has inherited from his late great father, it is the main reason why Rioli thinks he can be a success at AFL level.

“Whatever comes his way he’ll make the most of it,” Rioli said.

“Looking at the way he’s developed and the way he plays his footy, if he keeps bringing that sort of effort and intensity, he’ll go pretty well wherever he ends up.”