By Marc McGowan
A slip of the tongue two years ago put Willie Rioli jnr’s move to Port Adelaide into overdrive.
Bailed up by journalists at Adelaide Airport, but on instruction not to say anything, Rioli – still in negotiations with West Coast, but having just undergone a medical with the Power – revealed on camera he wanted to play for Port.
Willie Rioli has become a key member of Port Adelaide’s forward line.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Any prospect of the Eagles improving their offer ended at that moment.
A week later, Rioli’s trade request was official, the culmination of a tumultuous three-year period that included him receiving a two-year backdated ban for substituting a urine sample and breaching the anti-doping code.
The 2018 Eagles premiership player was also caught at Darwin Airport in 2021 with cannabis in a taped package inside his shorts, mere months before he was eligible to resume training, then playing, with the Eagles after his ban.
Then, Rioli’s father died suddenly from a heart attack the next year. His trade request followed – but West Coast’s then-chief executive, Trevor Nisbett, was not happy.
“We could not have done any more to support Junior since his infraction in 2019,” Nisbett said at the time. “We facilitated his appeal and subsequent return to football, so this decision is bitterly disappointing.”
Two years later, Rioli has reemerged with Port as one of the best goalsneaks in the competition. His rare vision and skill execution were on full display in last week’s semi-final against the Hawks, including a deft pass across his body to Todd Marshall, a no-look handball to Darcy Byrne-Jones, a midair soccer goal, a spin then wonderfully weighted pass to Quinton Narkle, and a perfect kick to a leading Mitch Georgiades.
“He gets forgotten about,” said the Power’s forwards coach, club great Chad Cornes, ahead of Friday night’s preliminary final against Sydney.
“He had some interruptions midway through this year [with a calf strain], but I was talking to Kenny [Hinkley] about this yesterday – if you look at the stats, and if he had played all the games, he’s right up there with Tyson Stengle.
“He doesn’t get the recognition he deserves, but he doesn’t want it either. He’s very humble, and you see that even in team meetings when you highlight something he’s done very well.”
There were various reasons why Rioli, then 27, made the call to start afresh at the Power and return to South Australia, where he has family.
He knew this was his last chance for a good-size contract, and there was a genuine pull to be closer to family.
Rioli said in a post-match interview on Channel Seven after Port’s three-point semi-final win over Hawthorn last week that providing more support for his family was “one of the main reasons” for his move.
Rioli could join cousins Cyril and Daniel, and uncle Michael Long, in winning multiple AFL premierships.Credit: Getty Images
A young cousin who is undergoing chemotherapy was in the rooms with him as he spoke.
Another factor was that West Coast were in the early stages of transitioning from their flag-winning group into a rebuild, while Port Adelaide were in premiership contention and hunting for a silky small forward.
Rioli’s agent, ex-Crow and Demon John Meesen, met him a decade ago while playing alongside his future client for the Tiwi Bombers as a fly-in player. The late Willie Rioli snr was coaching Tiwi at the time.
Meesen was impressed with Rioli’s pure talent and wondered aloud to him why he was toiling away in the Northern Territory league instead of the AFL. That conversation led Rioli to SANFL club Glenelg – but not before six teams chose not to sign him.
Three Riolis: Tigers Maurice jnr and Daniel flank Willie at the MCG in 2022.Credit: AFL Photos
Rioli agreed to do whatever he could to continue his family’s incredible football legacy, and lost 16 kilograms inside the next two years.
He had a car, but not somewhere permanent to stay, so he slept on couches and paid the bills reading water meters. By the time he kicked four goals in a state representative game for the SANFL in 2016, AFL recruiters were taking notice.
West Coast snapped Rioli up with pick 52 in that year’s draft, with Elliott Himmelberg and Jack Graham taken either side of him.
A hamstring injury delayed Rioli’s debut, but he played all 24 games in 2018, including the grand final. However, injuries and the anti-doping suspension limited his impact in his final four years at West Coast.
Even Rioli’s trade to Port Adelaide was engulfed in drama, as part of a four-club “mega deal” with North Melbourne, the Eagles and GWS that also led to No.1 selection Jason Horne-Francis joining the Power and a bunch of draft picks swap hands.
Within Rioli’s first pre-season at Alberton, Cornes and co. were often left mouth agape at the forward’s brilliance.
“Some of his kicks inside 50 in match play were that good, you didn’t believe he was trying to kick the ball where it went,” Cornes said.
“I was watching some edits recently, and I was still asking him, ‘Did you mean that?’ That class in front of goal is something we lacked before he got here.”
Rioli played an important role in Port Adelaide’s narrow semi-final victory over Hawthorn.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Rioli is now only two wins away from joining his cousins Cyril (four) and Daniel Rioli (three), and uncle Michael Long (two), in playing in at least two flags.
But there is more to him than just his on-field feats.
Rioli is generous with his time, and in helping others, such as one Indigenous boy with a challenging background from the NT, who was contemplating relocating to Adelaide with a host family.
“Willie took him aside, shared his story with this young kid, spent half an hour with him, and got him a guernsey, and even a pair of boots,” Cornes said.
“It’s just what Willie does. The number of messages we got back from that family was incredible. It meant so much to them.”
Rioli also returned to Perth to watch ex-teammate Liam Ryan play his 100th game in round 18 this year, taking in the match with other former Eagles.
“Time heals all,” Meesen said.
“There’s a lot of goodwill there. He’s forever indebted to West Coast for giving him his start, and he has great relationships and memories from his time there. In a perfect world, none of his stuff happens, and he never leaves West Coast, but he’s really happy and motivated now.”
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