AFL 2024: Daniel Rioli talks shaking off injury, possible midfield move, Maurice Rioli

After a battling 2023, Richmond dasher Daniel Rioli is looking ahead to exciting times under new coach Adem Yze, which could involve a different role in the Tiger team.

Richmond dasher Daniel Rioli says new coach Adem Yze has dangled the carrot of some midfield time as a shock weapon like cousin Cyril Rioli in his Hawthorn glory days.

It comes as Rioli backed in his close relative Maurice Rioli to put his new-found maturity on show in a make-or-break season at Punt Road.

Tigers defender Rioli has packed a full career’s worth of moments in his eight seasons as a triple premiership small forward with a Goal of the Year award before winning All Australian 40 honours in 2022 as a half back.

Now the 26-year-old has a new coach in Yze and potentially new challenges despite his desire to again dominate at half back after limping through 2023 with a niggling ankle injury.

Rioli said instead of spending time on the training track he too often had his ankle in a bucket of ice as fluid in the joint saw him playing hurt for interim coach Andrew McQualter.

McQualter missed out on the new role for former Demons star Yze, who honed his coaching skills in a side with star small forward Cyril Rioli during their premiership era.

Daniel Rioli is again injury free and told the Herald Sun he still wasn’t sure how to take Yze’s suggestion of some midfield minutes.

“He wants me to play mostly half back but he made a comment to me: “What is your nickname? What about ‘Silk”,” Rioli told the Herald Sun after the club’s intraclub clash on Wednesday.

“He said if we needed a ‘Cyril’ or a Shaun Burgoyne to provide spark in the midfield why not? They were ‘Mr Fix-it’ players. He did make that comment and obviously I want to play half back this year. I haven’t played a lot of midfield time in my AFL career so I am excited if that does come about. Midfield, forward, back to the backline, I am happy. He has got a lot of confidence in our players and I am thrilled to play under him.”

“Last year was a bit of a roller coaster for us. We all have confidence in Yze’s game plan and what he brings to the club.”

Last year Rioli’s stats were almost identical to his breakout 2022 as a defender – resulting in a fifth-placing in the Jack Dyer Medal.

But too often he hobbled into games and played through contests despite re-injuring his ankle.

“It was tough with the injury and I just tried to do the right thing for the team to get out there. A nice off-season helped. I got off my legs for a bit and I am cherry ripe now but there was heaps of fluid on my ankle that kept bugging me through the year,” he said.

“I couldn’t even walk on it at some stages. The ankle was a bit blue and I had to be at home with an ice bucket every night and that got me through but I had a good physio who looked after me.”

Post-season Rioli and partner Paris Lawrence escaped for some sightseeing to Tokyo before returning to his home in the Tiwi Islands over Christmas.

The club had urged third-year forward Maurice Rioli to rededicate himself to his fitness across the off-season given his tank did not allow him to get to enough contests in a ten-game 2023 AFL season.

He returned in adequate rather than outstanding shape but Daniel Rioli said he had made up for lost time since then.

“Obviously Maurice has got a long way to go. He’s still young and he’s pretty raw to this game so we know what a good pressure player he is. He is now (in good shape). I go home a lot and have a lot of bush tucker which puts me over that scale a bit,” he said.

“We both try to come back in reasonable shape but obviously the club has good programs through training. He has been good. He is still young and learning and if he doesn’t come back as fit he’s got a good program with physios and coaches who talk him through things

“He is still getting to that stage where he is maturing. He is only 21 years old and this year he needs to get into it and show the people what he’s made of.”