Tributes flowing for 'genius' RioliThe 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.''
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