One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: FNM on December 25, 2010, 07:17:18 PM
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Just received news - hope it's incorrect, but had a heart attack after Xmas lunch today!
Tragic news for all tiger fans on Christmas Day!
:'(
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Today we lost the most skillful and pleasurable to watch player I have ever seen in the yellow and black.
RIP Maurice Rioli.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/8564538/football-legend-maurice-rioli-dies/
Not much of a Christmas present this one :'(
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(http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2010/12/25/1225976/163237-pn-maurice-rioli.jpg)
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(http://images.triplem.com.au/2010/05/20/399689/Maurice-Rioli-6x4-600x400.jpg)
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(http://www.richmondfc.com.au/Portals/0/images_richmond/100%20Moments/Class%20of%20the%20century/COTC_MRioli.jpg)
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Can you join these One Eyed?
Seems we both heard of the sad news at the same time
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http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/football-legend-maurice-rioli-dead-from-suspected-heart-attack/story-e6frg1wu-1225976163098
WA and VFL football legend Maurice "Magic'' Rioli, 53, has died from a suspected heart attack at a family function in Darwin.
The former South Fremantle legend was a star in the WAFL and VFL, winning a Simpson Medal as a member of South Fremantle's 1980 Premiership team and following that with a Norm Smith Medal in Richmond's 1982 Grand Final win.
Rioli, from the Northern Territory's Melville Island, was one of most skilful Aboriginal footballers and had an instant impact in Victorian football.
He was renowned for his brilliant ball-handling skills and lightning reflexes.
He won the Simpson Medal as best player afield when South Fremantle won the 1980 premiership.
At Richmond he won the club Fairest and Best Award in 1982 and 1983.
Essendon legend and another former Territory star, Michael Long, confirmed Rioli's death.
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A TOP TIGER
Maurice Rioli
Club: Richmond
Career: 1982-87
Recruited from: South Fremantle (166 games)
Games: 118. Goals: 80
PLAYING HONOURS
Richmond best and fairest 1982, ‘83
Norm Smith medallist 1982
Brownlow Medal runner-up 1983
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I know ME Bank have purchased the naming rights to the new facilities at Punt Road, but I'd like to see them name the indigenous center after Maurice
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I know ME Bank have purchased the naming rights to the new facilities at Punt Road, but I'd like to see them name the indigenous center after Maurice
Brilliant suggestion :thumbsup
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I know ME Bank have purchased the naming rights to the new facilities at Punt Road, but I'd like to see them name the indigenous center after Maurice
:thumbsup
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Terrible loss. Condolences to his family and friends and the wider Tiger community. Top shelf footballer.
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SAd sad sad. :'(
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Terrible loss. Condolences to his family and friends and the wider Tiger community. Top shelf footballer.
100%
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Gee that's just terrible news on a day like today.
Thoughts are with his family
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One of the all time great mids. Cannot believe he is gone at just 53.
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I know ME Bank have purchased the naming rights to the new facilities at Punt Road, but I'd like to see them name the indigenous center after Maurice
Agreed. :thumbsup
Shocking news at any time let alone during this time of year. :'(
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:'(
Former AFL star Maurice Rioli dead
* From: AAP
* December 25, 2010 8:45PM
THE football community is in mourning after the death of former AFL Richmond great Maurice Rioli at 53.
It's understood the three time All Australian suffered a heart attack at a Christmas Day gathering in Darwin.
Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale said the thoughts of everyone at the club were with the Rioli family.
"Maurice was an enormously important figure in the game as a player, and more broadly in the leading role he played for indigenous Australians," Mr Gale said.
"He will be remembered as one of the greatest players in the Tigers proud history.
"He inspired millions - the friendships that he made were enduring."
The Tigers recruited Rioli from South Fremantle in 1982 and he played 118 games for the club and kicked 80 goals.
He won the Norm Smith Medal for the best player in Richmond's 1982 grand final loss to Carlton.
Brownlow Medallist Brad Hardie told Perth radio station 6PR that is was a very sad day for football.
"I'm very devastated," Hardie said.
"He was a beautiful man and the original Mr Magic - there have been many since but he was the original."
After playing out his career in Fremantle, Rioli moved back to Darwin where he became the Member for Arafura in 1992 until his retirement from parliament in 2001.
The Rioli name has lived on in the AFL with two of his nephews - Hawthorn star Cyril Rioli and former Essendon player Dean Rioli - making major contributions to the code.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/former-afl-star-maurice-rioli-dead/story-e6frf7jx-1225976188718
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What can we say. We lost a great of our club today. The club does need to do something in his honor, naming the indigenous centre at Punt Road is a suggestion that should be taken up by the club. I urge you all to write a post on the club website asking the club to look at this suggestion.
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I know ME Bank have purchased the naming rights to the new facilities at Punt Road, but I'd like to see them name the indigenous center after Maurice
I agree wholeheartedly Infamy. Excellent suggestion :thumbsup
RIP Maurice. Your brilliance on the field gave me many fond memories as a proud Tiger supporter. You will be dearly missed.
I wish I could post a video tribute here but my "fighting tiger spirit" clip on YouTube which I made a while ago as some special Maurice Rioli moments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-5fWk27ye4
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Your heart goes out to his family losing him on Christmas day :(.
RIP Mr Magic :'(
I know ME Bank have purchased the naming rights to the new facilities at Punt Road, but I'd like to see them name the indigenous center after Maurice
Agree Infamy :thumbsup
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Terrible news for his family and the wider football community. Makes you realise there is more to life than football and just how precious life itself is.
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Tiger great Maurice Rioli dies at 53
* Nui Te Koha
* From: Sunday Herald Sun
* December 26, 2010
FOOTBALL great Maurice Rioli has died while celebrating Christmas with family.
Rioli, a former Richmond star and 1982 Norm Smith Medallist, suffered a heart attack at his Darwin home about 3pm yesterday.
He was 53.
Hours after his passing, tributes poured in from family, friends and former teammates from around the country.
Mal Brown, who coached Rioli at South Fremantle, said: "He was the most gifted player I ever coached. I loved him as a player and as a person."
Former teammates echoed those comments.
"Maurice was just awesome, absolutely brilliant," former Tigers full-forward Michael Roach said. "He was the best tackler at Richmond in my time there."
From Melville Island in the Northern Territory, Rioli is regarded as the first of the modern indigenous superstar AFL players.
A three-time All-Australian, his freakish ball-handling skills and kicking prowess were renowned.
"He was a left-footer who could turn back on to his right foot. He walked around everybody," Brown said.
After football, Rioli enjoyed a life in politics.
He was elected as the member for Arafura in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1992.
Rioli held that position until 2001 when he retired from parliament.
Friends said Rioli was a low-key and humble man.
"You wouldn't know he was around, half the time," Roach said.
Rioli was the uncle of Hawthorn star Cyril and former Bomber Dean Rioli. He was also cousin to Essendon great Michael Long.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad-application/tiger-great-maurice-rioli-dies-at-53/story-fn6bfkm6-1225976188702
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What a player. :bow
Blessed to have seen him in the Y&B.
Thanks for everything Maurice.
RIP 'Mr Magic'.
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What a bitch
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What a player. :bow
Blessed to have seen him in the Y&B.
Thanks for everything Maurice.
RIP 'Mr Magic'.
agree
best and most skillful player to wear our jumper
RIP
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Hopefully his young lad comes through in time and we finally have a rioli in a Richmond jumper again.
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Your heart goes out to his family losing him on Christmas day :(.
RIP Mr Magic :'(
I know ME Bank have purchased the naming rights to the new facilities at Punt Road, but I'd like to see them name the indigenous center after Maurice
Agree Infamy :thumbsup
Unfortunately folks the Indigneous Centre has already been named.
"The ME Bank Centre will also house the Australian Institute for Indigenous Learning and Skills Development, the Korin Gamadji Institute."
refer: http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/106482/default.aspx
I am not sure where the origins come from but I think it may have some link to an elder of the local people
However in light of that, another thing they could do is either name a room after Mr Magic eg the Maurice Rioli Theatre or issue a scholarship in his name every year to a young person from the NT who atrends the centre
RIP Mr Magic
Close to the Best tiger play I've had the pleasure to watch
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Terrible news.
Maurice Rioli was my first "favorite" player....53 is way too young.
The first Brownlow medal count I can remember watching was 1983...I was devestated when Maurice was pipped at the post.
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RIP :(
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I know ME Bank have purchased the naming rights to the new facilities at Punt Road, but I'd like to see them name the indigenous center after Maurice
Unfortunately folks the Indigneous Centre has already been named.
"The ME Bank Centre will also house the Australian Institute for Indigenous Learning and Skills Development, the Korin Gamadji Institute."
Korin Gamadji means to grow & emerge, don't see why Maurice can't be associated with it also
Edited to correct quote
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I know ME Bank have purchased the naming rights to the new facilities at Punt Road, but I'd like to see them name the indigenous center after Maurice
Unfortunately folks the Indigneous Centre has already been named.
"The ME Bank Centre will also house the Australian Institute for Indigenous Learning and Skills Development, the Korin Gamadji Institute."
Korin Gamadji means to grow & emerge, don't see why Maurice can't be associated with it also
Edited to correct quote
Sorry I wasn't sure how the name Korin Gamadji came about
I agree he should be associated with it like I suggested in my post. All I was trying to point out was that Learnign centre has already been named and as a result then perhaps the Club could look at honouring Mr Magic another way in the way of a scholarship
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RIP Mr Magic.
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Tributes flowing for 'genius' Rioli
The Age,
December 27, 2010
Fans mourn the death of a gentle champion, writes Jon Pierik.
A GENIUS with a football in his hands. The best tackler of the past 30 years. A trailblazer and a gentleman.
As word spread yesterday of the death of Maurice Rioli, the Richmond Football Club , his home between 1982-87, remembered a champion midfielder who wowed supporters with his sublime skills, modest nature and willingness to improve life for his indigenous brethren.
Rioli, 53, died on Christmas Day. He collapsed at a family barbecue in Darwin after a suspected heart attack.
''It was a real shock, given his age,'' Brian Taylor, the former full-forward who enjoyed many a pristine pass from Rioli, said last night.
Rioli, one of eight footballing brothers, was born on Melville Island in the Northern Territory on September 1, 1957. He started his career with NTFL heavyweight St Marys before linking with his brother Sebastian at WAFL side South Fremantle in the 1970s. He flourished there - former Richmond enforcer Mal Brown was coach at the time - and was pursued by the Tigers. In those days Rioli was also a promising boxer in welterweight and middleweight divisions who some thought good enough to represent his country. However, football won the day, and so too soon would the Tigers.
After extensive negotiations, the then 24-year-old would be lured to Victoria on a fat contract and handed Jack Dyer's famous No. 17 in time for the 1982 season. ''I was a South Fremantle supporter before Maurice left WA to go to Richmond. I saw him play there as well,'' Taylor said. ''He was absolutely electrifying, him and Benny Vergona and Stephen Michael.
''Maurice had the guts to break away from that and take indigenous football to the best competition in Australia. The indigenous guys felt very comfortable in Perth. It was like home to them. Coming to Victoria and a suburban lifestyle was always going to be difficult. He handled it with aplomb.''
His impact was immediate. He claimed successive best-and-fairest awards in 1982-83. In '82, he was the first indigenous Norm Smith medallist and first to claim the award in a losing grand final side when the Tigers were over-run by Carlton.
Rioli was the runner-up in the Brownlow in 1983 and would eventually be named in the AFL's Indigenous Team of the Century. Tigers great Francis Bourke, who coached Rioli in his first two seasons, said his sublime skills on the left side of his body - he rarely, if ever, kicked with his right foot - often meant his overall toughness was overlooked. ''He had a gentle nature about him that belied a steely, tough interior. He was quietly spoken but with a sly sense of humour,'' Bourke said.
Rioli would play 118 games for the Tigers, kicking 80 goals, and was a three-time All Australian.
''He was just one of the greatest natural talents I have ever seen. He was the best tackler in his day and is still the best tackler I have ever seen,'' Taylor said. Taylor had four years alongside Rioli before the robust goalkicker transferred to Collingwood. ''There was nothing better than being at full-forward and leading to Maurice Rioli,'' said Taylor, who topped the Tigers' goal-kicking in 1982 (71). ''There are only a few players in your time that you can lead to with great certainty, you knew they could put the ball where it needed to be put. He was one of only probably two, the other being Mick McGuane, that could get that job done.''
Former midfield mate Geoff Raines said it was a pleasure to play alongside Rioli in '82 but not so much when he crossed to Victoria Park as an opponent.
''He was a great player. He just had magical skills, evasive skills. His side-step and his movement was just brilliant,'' he said.
While sashaying around opponents appeared easy, dealing with racist vitriol from opponents and the crowd was a challenge. It wouldn't be until the mid-1990s before the AFL finally took action on this scourge.
The VFL was a tough, hard place through the 1980s and Rioli, the brother-in-law of Essendon champion Michael Long, wasn't afraid to speak about the racial taunts he faced. ''He had a lot to do with breaking down those early barriers,'' Taylor said.
Rioli stunned the Tigers in the summer of 1985 when he signed with Sydney as part of Dr Geoffrey Edelsten's cashed-up shopping spree but this move would be quashed by salary-cap restrictions. He was then linked with a move to Essendon but returned to Punt Road midway through the '86 season.
He would remain there for another 18 months before finishing his playing career in Fremantle. Rioli returned to Darwin and became the state member for Arafura in 1992 until his retirement from parliament in 2001.
The Rioli name, conjuring images of silken skills, has remained synonymous with the AFL through his nephews Dean Rioli (Essendon) and Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn).
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou, a former North Melbourne wingman, also paid tribute. ''He was the trailblazer for footballers from the Northern Territory in making their mark in the VFL and the AFL.''
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/tributes-flowing-for-genius-rioli-20101226-197x1.html
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NT trailblazer Rioli was a real champion
David Wood, Darwin
The Advertiser
December 27, 2010
MAURICE Rioli died on the big stage, with his family, his brother said yesterday.
Sibby Rioli said Maurice, 53, who died of a suspected heart attack at a Christmas day family barbecue in Darwin, would be remembered for what he had done for football, the community and the Tiwi people.
Sibby said football had given his brother an advantage which he had used it to help others, including his own son Dean, who played at Essendon, and his nephew, Hawthorn star Cyril.
He said there was not just one memory of his brother that stood out, there was a lifetime of influence.
"It was what he did for football; it is was what he did for the community; it was what he did for the Tiwi people," he said.
"It's just been unbelievable."
After being one of eight brothers from Melville Island to play for NTFL side St Marys, Maurice played for Perth's South Fremantle before making his magic famous at Richmond in in his 118-game VFL career that ran until 1987.
He was the first player to win a Norm Smith Medal in a losing side, in 1982.
Maurice was a Brownlow runner-up in 1983 and held many other football honours.
After fooball, in 1992 he became the Labor member for Arafura in the Northern Territory Parliament until he retired from politics in 2001.
"Yesterday he just walked off quietly," Sibby said. "His ex-wife said he did it on the big stage again, with his family."
Former team-mate and Tigers legend Kevin Bartlett was shattered when he heard the news.
"Well, that's unbelievable. That's very sad," an emotional Bartlett said.
"He was one of the great players that played with the Tigers, one of the great players I played with. It has hit me hard.
"I know how his family will feel. I lost my father on Christmas Day, so I can understand the depth of despair.
"He was a champion. Anyone who played with him would only class him as a champion player.
"He came to the club, won best and fairests, nearly won the Brownlow Medal, and he was just one of those marvellous indigenous players that took the football world by storm."
Sibby agreed his brother was a pioneer:
"He opened up a lot of doors, not just for indigenous footballers but for territory footballers," he said.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad/nt-trailblazer-rioli-was-a-real-champion/story-fn6bqphm-1225976458721
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A couple of great goals from Mr Magic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFo0ZRJN17w
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Doesnt Maurice have a young boy thats coming through the ranks?
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Richmond great Maurice Rioli to receive state funeral
Herald Sun
December 28, 2010 12:24PM
THE Northern Territory Government will hold a state funeral for Richmond champion Maurice Rioli, who died of a heart attack on Christmas Day.
Rioli collapsed at a family barbecue. He was 53.
NT Chief Minister Paul Henderson said a date for the funeral had not been set.
He paid tribute to Rioli, who played 118 games for the Tigers and also served as a member of the Territory parliament for nine years.
"When I first got elected to parliament in 1999, I sat next to him in the parliament and I had to bloody pinch myself, thinking, 'Geez, I've been elected to parliament and I'm sitting next to Maurice Rioli'," Henderson told the ABC.
Rioli's older brother, Sebastian, told the ABC earlier today a state funeral would be a fitting way to farewell a great sportsman and a great person.
"I think it would be a good thing. I think he's deserved it and a lot of people would like to say farewell to him," he said.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-great-maurice-rioli-may-receive-state-funeral/story-e6frf9jf-1225977142301
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RIP Mr Magic..you will be sadly missed. I saw this legand play for South Fremantle when I was a kid as I follow SF here. What a sad thing to happen!!!!!
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Doesnt Maurice have a young boy thats coming through the ranks?
never heard that, didn't have a son as far as I am aware ???
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He and his wife had a son in 1984 while he was at Richmond. He'd be 26 now.
No idea if he has any other sons.
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The Territory Government has issued a notice advising that the state funeral would be held in the St Mary's Star of the Sea Cathedral at 10am next Friday.
Rioli will be buried on the Tiwi Islands the following Monday.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-great-maurice-rioli-may-receive-state-funeral/story-e6frf9jf-1225977142301
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Mates want to honour footy hero
GREY MORRIS
NT News
December 31st, 2010
TERRITORY football pioneer Michael McLean wants a permanent memorial to AFL great Maurice Rioli at TIO Stadium or Gardens Oval.
McLean is one of several members of the inaugural AFLNT Hall of Fame calling for fellow inductee Rioli to be immortalised for future generations of Territory sports fans.
Fellow Territory football greats Michael Long, Mark Motlop, Russell Jeffrey and Dennis Dunn have joined McLean in calling for the honour to be struck in memory of their friend.
"Maurice was the person who put NT football on the map when he first arrived in the VFL (at Richmond) in 1982," McLean said.
"It's only right a grandstand, wing or hill is named after him or a statue built at Marrara or Gardens where he played most of his Territory footy.
"Maurice was a truly great player, one of our very best, and he should never be forgotten. I had a lot to do with Maurice when I was captain of the 1994 All-Stars and he was the coach and the same applies to the Bi-Centennial Carnival in '88 when I was vice-captain under him."
McLean remembered Rioli as a modest and humble man who never talked about his own extraordinary deeds in football.
"Maurice didn't need to do a lot of talking. We all knew how great he was and we're all very grateful for what he did for all of us," he said.
"You've got to remember Maurice was 24 when he arrived in Melbourne with Richmond and he had played more than 160 games (166) with South Fremantle.
"He made an early statement with his brilliant skills in the best Australian football competition in the land. From there he made a big impact on a lot of people and opened a lot of eyes on the amount of playing talent up here in the Territory."
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2010/12/31/204121_ntsport.html
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For those who didn't see it, here's the Messagestick program on the Rioli family. The part about Maurice is from 8.30 - 11.30 mins.
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/messagestick/video/2010/October2010.htm?pres=s3039638&story=1
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Tiger Rioli a picture of true class
GREY MORRIS | January 2nd, 2011
LONG-serving NT News picture editor Clive Hyde calls Maurice Rioli's Norm Smith Medal win in 1982 the highlight of his football photography career.
Hyde has resurrected some of his surviving photographs from that September, almost 30 years ago, when he followed Rioli, his dad Cyril Sr and other members of the family to Melbourne.
"That one ('82) was certainly special because I had become a Territorian after leaving Melbourne where I had done nothing but football and photographed the best part of 10 grand finals," Hyde recalled.
"This one gave me a chance to get back down there and, even more so, because our own Maurice Rioli was in it."
Hyde came up with the idea to fly members of the Rioli family (dad and two younger brothers) to Melbourne for the Richmond-Carlton premiership decider. "It was our intention to take them away from the Tiwi Islands and put them in the middle of the MCG in front of 100,000 people," he said.
"That was certainly my point to John Hogan, who was the NT News boss in those days, and Fred McCue Sr, then manager of Ansett in Darwin, who agreed to help as long as they got something out of it.
"But after I had contacted (NTFL president) Hunter Harrison and (St Marys president) Vic Ludwig and eventually Maurice's dad on the island, it was discovered they'd already been taken care of."
Hyde met up with the Rioli clan in Melbourne after flying down with journalist Lawrie McCauley.
"I knew the story was always going to be about Rioli and rang Alan Schwab through my contacts with Richmond," Hyde said. "And Maurice and his dad were fantastic, they were more than happy to let me do whatever I wanted to do."
Hyde and McCauley were at Richmond's final training session on Thursday and at Rioli's small single-fronted house in Hawthorn where he lived with former wife Robyn.
"It was bloody freezing but I got his old man reading the old Sporting Globe with a big story on the front page and a lot of other pictures which, unfortunately, are missing," he said.
"Especially those with Maurice running outside in his tracksuit like a boxer with a towel around his neck."
Training at the MCG on Thursday night was followed by more pictures in the Richmond clubrooms at Punt Rd where Hyde knew everyone, from the boot studders and property stewards to the trainers.
"They even got the old Tiger skin out for me and I got Maurice and his old man with the Tiger's head," Hyde said.
"Then it was a matter of waiting for the big game and my biggest concern in the hours leading up to it was where Maurice's family would be watching the game from.
"His dad told me they'd be in the grandstand and I didn't even think about where that would be."
Hyde was in the centre of the ground when the Richmond players ran down the race and burst through their banner. He took several shots of the 25-year-old Rioli in the warm-ups before realising he had still not located the family.
"I thought, 'Geez, I've now got to find the Riolis among the 100,000-plus fans (107,536) who were there that day'," he said.
"I looked up and all I could see was these three smiling little black faces and incredibly, they were right in front of where I used to sit through 10 years of covering footy."
Clive Hyde was an award-winning photographer with the NT News from 1981-2009.
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2011/01/02/204541_ntnews.html
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Tiger reps join Rioli farewell
richmondfc.com.au
Fri 07 Jan, 2011
Richmond Football Club will be well represented at the State Funeral of former Premiership player Maurice Rioli in Darwin today.
Tiger captain Chris Newman will join former great Dale Weightman at the funeral.
Richmond president Gary March and chief executive Brendon Gale will also be in attendance.
“It is important that the Club is properly represented at the funeral of someone who gave so much to this Club and the game,” Gale said.
“We will be representing everyone associated with the Richmond Football Club, in particular the thousands of members and supporters that have so many wonderful memories of Maurice.”
Rioli, a Norm Smith medalist and three time All-Australian with the Tigers, passed away at aged 53 from a heart attack in Darwin on Christmas Day, 2010.
He played 118 games and kicked 80 goals for Richmond between 1982 and 1987, and won the Club Best and Fairest award twice (1982 and 1983).
Since his passing, the Club’s web site and social media sites have been inundated with messages of support for the Rioli family, and memories of his electrifying skill on the field, and the impact he had on Indigenous Australians off it.
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/106624/default.aspx
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According to 3aw
About 1,200 attended the state funeral for Maurice Rioli in Darwin, where his young grandson said: "I want to be just like Mr Magic."
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According to 3aw
About 1,200 attended the state funeral for Maurice Rioli in Darwin, where his young grandson said: "I want to be just like Mr Magic."
A Norm Smith medallist for the mighty RFC. Hopefully in a winning team this time. Sounds good to me. :thumbsup
Farewell Maurice. Thanks for all the great memories. :clapping
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Rioli remembered as 'poetry in motion'
By Larine Statham
17:12 AEST Fri Jan 7 2011
The death of Maurice Rioli is a devastating loss for the Tiwi Islands, say friends of the AFL great.
Rioli, a former Richmond player, was just 53-years-old when he collapsed from a heart attack in Darwin on Christmas day.
Long-time friend of Rioli, NT Labor minister Marion Scrymgour told AAP the death had absolutely devastated the Melville Island community.
She said too many strong Aboriginal leaders were dying early.
"He was too young ... Maurice was only getting started in his life."
Rioli was the Tiwi Islands' second Aboriginal leader to die in as many months.
The father of star Melbourne Demons footballer Austin Wonaeamirri was killed in a car accident in November.
Matthew Wonaeamirri was just 63.
Ms Scrymgour she said she hoped their deaths would inspire young Tiwi Islanders to stand up and become strong leaders.
She said it was only fitting Rioli, who served in the NT parliament as the Labor member for Arafura from 1992 until his retirement in 2001, received a state funeral.
When Ms Scrymgour took Rioli's seat in the parliament, Rioli danced her into the chamber.
"From that time, right until his death, I had nothing but support and encouragement from him over this nine years."
More than 600 people, including several high profile AFL figures, gathered at St Mary's Cathedral in Darwin on Friday to celebrate the life of a man who "helped pave the way for Aboriginal players in the AFL".
A procession of Aboriginal dancers led the casket up the stairs and into the cathedral.
Traditional Aboriginal song echoed from the Smith Street church, as politicians, football identities, community leaders, friends and family spoke about a man who was anything but an ordinary footballer.
In 1982, the talented mid-fielder became not only the first Aboriginal Norm Smith medallist, but the first player from a grand final losing side to take the coveted award.
He played 118 games for Richmond Tigers and spent many years playing for the South Fremantle Football Club (SFFC) in Western Australia and the St Mary's Football Club (SMFC) in the NT.
Brian Ciccotosto from the SFFC recited a poem about "Mister Magic" and his wizardry with a football.
"He was a graceful gifted player; he was poetry in motion," Mr Ciccotosto said.
Rioli's love of sport extended beyond Aussie Rules.
As well as enjoying cricket, basketball and rugby league, Rioli won several state amateur boxing titles and represented Australia in Gaelic football.
Two of the Brownlow runner-up's grandsons spoke about how their Pop, who leaves behind seven grandchildren and four children, made them laugh when he tried to dance and sing.
Mourners told stories of how Rioli was a coastal man who hated travelling any further south than Katherine, and spent all his spare time with family, hunting turtle and geese.
Rioli's family embraced the casket in the centre of the cathedral and wailed loudly for much of the service.
Rioli's nephew, former Essendon player Dean Rioli, was one of several family members who carried an offering of gifts down the aisle of the church to his coffin.
Former Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams, who played against Rioli in the AFL, told AAP the ceremony was eye opening.
"Not too many people from down south get the opportunity to attend such a very important ceremony.
"There are some wonderful things and they should be very proud of how they've sent him off."
Recently signed as the senior assistant coach for Greater Western Sydney, Williams said he and coach Kevin Sheedy would spend a couple of days in the NT after Rioli's funeral looking for new indigenous talent.
A traditional Tiwi Island burial will take place at Gardens Point on Melville Island, north of Darwin, on Monday.
http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8193572
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'Poetry in motion' .. indeed.
Going to sidestep his way past the pearly gates.
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Mourners gather to farewell 'Rolls-Royce' Rioli
Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin
January 8, 2011
KEVIN Sheedy has never worked out why the two spa_rsedly populated Tiwi islands off the far north of Australia have produced some of Australia's top indigenous footballers.
''It's like they have radars … they know where the footy is coming from, they know every angle of every ball and every kick needed for any goal,'' says Sheedy, the AFL veteran who is now coach of the Greater Western Sydney Giants.
And Sheedy says Tiwi islander Maurice Rioli, whose funeral he attended in Darwin yesterday, pioneered a wave of indigenous players who have succeeded in the AFL, including Hawthorn's Cyril Rioli.
Maurice Rioli, Cyril's uncle, died on Christmas Day from a suspected heart attack, aged 53. Sheedy said it was a credit to Maurice Rioli there are 100 indigenous players at the game's top level and that 1000 of the 8000 players in the AFL's training program are indigenous.
''It has flowed on from Maurice and a couple of others into a great bridge-building exercise,'' he said.
Two religions melted together in Darwin's sweltering monsoon heat for Rioli's funeral: Catholicism and football. Rioli played 118 games for Richmond and was the first player to win a Norm Smith Medal in a losing grand final side.
But hundreds of Aboriginal mourners also brought their traditional ''sorry business'' to the usually sedate St Mary's Star of the Sea Cathedral to see off one of their most respected leaders.
With their faces painted white, and clapping sticks, mourners led the coffin into the church where Sheedy and other AFL identities sat, including Rioli's former South Fremantle coach, Mal Brown.
In an outpouring of grief, mourners wailed through the service conducted by the Bishop of Darwin, Eugene Hurley, who described Rioli as the ''AFL's Rolls-Royce''.
Cardinal George Pell, the Bishop of Sydney, a 20-year Richmond supporter, sent a message describing Rioli as ''poetry in action''.
Brown told the church Rioli was like an ''18-gallon keg with legs'' who had an unbelievable ability to baulk and weave as well as tackle.
He said Rioli was shy and placid but when he ''got hot, you kept out of his way''.
Rioli loved hunting turtle and dugong on the Tiwi Islands before taking up cricket, boxing and then football.
Brown told mourners that former footballer Mark ''Jacko'' Jackson once made the mistake of getting into a ring with Rioli.
''Every time Jacko took a swing, Maurice would duck and swing around and punch him in the head with a left. Jacko quickly screamed he had had enough and ran from the ring.'''
After becoming a Labor politician in the Northern Territory Parliament between 1992 and 2001, Rioli spent almost 10 years working for the Tiwi community and mentoring young footballers, many of whom play for the predominantly indigenous Tiwi Bombers in the NTAFL competition.
A traditional funeral for Rioli will be held on the Tiwi Islands on Monday. He will be buried near a mango tree.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/mourners-gather-to-farewell-rollsroyce-rioli-20110107-19iuk.html
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KEVIN Sheedy has never worked out why the two spbehindly populated Tiwi islands
I see we still use the same swear filter as the old site. :rollin
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KEVIN Sheedy has never worked out why the two spbehindly populated Tiwi islands
I see we still use the same swear filter as the old site. :rollin
;D
All fixed see above ;)
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Maurice Rioli: he made footy an art
OBITUARY From: The Australian December 27, 2010 12:00AM
Maurice Rioli
Born: Melville Island, Northern Territory, September 1, 1957. Died: Darwin. December 25, 2010
MAURICE Rioli blazed a path for indigenous footballers, but perhaps his biggest legacy is elevating Australian football to high art.
The Richmond star, who died from a suspected heart attack on Christmas Day aged 53, was justly called "Mr Magic" for the time he had to distribute the ball.
At his peak in the early 1980s, no one could lay a glove on the silky-smooth number 17, who arrived like a breath of fresh air at the same time Jim and Phil Krakouer landed at North Melbourne. The Rioli baulk was his trademark. Often mesmerised opponents would stand off for fear of being flummoxed by his dummy.
He did not fit neatly into the modern typecasts of "inside" and "outside" midfielders. Rioli was both able to do the grunt work deep in the packs and, although by no means quick, was lethal when allowed latitude. Once free he would wheel on to that raking left boot and deliver with telling effect, or bomb the goal square with a soaring torpedo.
But the Rioli tackle was textbook, too, and he had the hardness of a man who was handy in a boxing ring. Gathering all of this in one player created the prototypical centreman in an era before centre square players were bracketed under the generic "midfielder" tag.
Such was his brilliance, Rioli forced Geoff Raines, then seen as the best centreman in the country, out of the pivot, which some say set off a chain of events that led Raines to ask to be transferred to Collingwood. There was no quibbling when Rioli was named in the centre in the Indigenous Team of the Century in 2005.
Rioli's genius helped hoist Richmond into a grand final in his first season. He was the first man from a losing team to win the Norm Smith Medal.
Rioli played 118 games for the club and kicked 80 goals with just 33 behinds -- after being lured to Richmond from South Fremantle in 1982. He left Richmond at the end of 1987 and played out his career in Fremantle, where he gave weight to the laments of those who said he had quit top-level football prematurely, winning a third All-Australian guernsey at the 1988 Bicentennial Carnival.
In 1990 Rioli returned to Darwin where he became the Member for Arafura in 1992 until his retirement from parliament in 2001.
The Rioli name has lived on in the AFL with two of his nephews -- Hawthorn star Cyril Rioli and former Essendon player Dean Rioli -- making major contributions to the code. Rioli not only blazed a path for family members and other Tiwi Islander footballers, he was a staunch supporter of the NT creating its own team, in 2008, to play in the QAFL. Supported by the federal government, the NT Thunder has been a huge success, creating pathways for young indigenous players who in turn have become community role models.
"He was held in high regard by all our indigenous players," Thunder chief executive Stuart Totham said yesterday. "He worked in the local (Tiwi Islands) Shire so he worked with the indigenous players on a day-to-day basis. He was a particular supporter of our desire to teach players what was required to achieve at a high level.
"He went to WA and dominated there then went to Victoria and was one of the first indigenous players to dominate there. It's a big loss. He was one of the pathfinders."
Andrew Faulkner, additional reporting: AAP
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/maurice-rioli-he-made-footy-an-art/story-e6frg7mf-1225976462726
Quite amazing(yet not surprising) how much coverage Maurice's death has received considering his relatively short time in the game at AFL level.
The tributes have been flowing for this super talent and obviously he had an impact on many.
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St Mary’s farewell
RICHMOND will pay tribute to its late champion Maurice Rioli when the Tigers host a function in Darwin on the eve of their clash with the Indigenous All-Stars in a fortnight. While the match will be played on Saturday, February 5, at TIO Stadium, from 7pm, the night before club great Dale ‘‘Flea’’ Weightman, who played alongside Rioli during his time at Tigerland, will host an evening with many indigenous stars present at the iconic St Marys Football Club. Rioli died after a heart attack on Christmas Day. For any supporters heading up north for the game who would also like to attend the function, contact the club for more details.
http://www.theage.com.au/sport/bennelong-summer-of-tennis-20110122-1a0rz.html
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In Alice Springs on Friday, the Indigenous All-Stars will take on Richmond. Before the game and at half-time there will be a tribute to Maurice Rioli for his contributions as a footballer, a parliamentarian and a leader of his people.
The players are expected to wear black arm bands to pay their respects.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/tribute-to-an-afl-trailblazer-20110131-1ab5v.html
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In Alice Springs on Friday, the Indigenous All-Stars will take on Richmond. Before the game and at half-time there will be a tribute to Maurice Rioli for his contributions as a footballer, a parliamentarian and a leader of his people.
The players are expected to wear black arm bands to pay their respects.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/tribute-to-an-afl-trailblazer-20110131-1ab5v.html
Hopefully it will be included as part of the ABC coverage tonight.
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With the game cancelled hopefully the Club can organise another time to pay tribute to Mr Magic say prior to round 1 or in some meaningful way by naming something after him.
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With the game cancelled hopefully the Club can organise another time to pay tribute to Mr Magic say prior to round 1 or in some meaningful way by naming something after him.
Perhaps at our game in Darwin against Port.