Rioli a star pioneer
11:59:24 AM Thu 7 July, 2005
Sean Callander of the AFL Record
The arrival of players such as Maurice Rioli was a key moment in the emergence of Aboriginal footballers as a force in the AFL. Sean Callander of the AFL Record takes up the story . . .
There have been many momentous dates in the history of our game. March 27, 1982 is one. Rarely have three players arrived in the AFL/VFL with bigger reputations than brothers Phil and Jim Krakouer from WAFL club Claremont, and Maurice Rioli from rival WAFL club South Fremantle.
Other hugely talented Aboriginal players had previously made their mark on the competition – ‘Polly’ Farmer, Barry Cable, Syd Jackson – but this was a revolution.
Emerging from arguably the greatest era of Aboriginal players, most who played together in the WAFL, Rioli and the Krakouers brought panache and flair to a competition renowned for an often hard-nosed style of play.
Sean Gorman, author of “Brotherboys – The Story of Jim and Phillip Krakouer”, made this assessment of their contribution: “The Krakouers and Maurice Rioli completely blew open the door and were the forerunners for what was to follow for Aboriginal footballers,” Gorman said.
Rioli, in particular, brought impressive credentials with him. He had journeyed to Perth from his native Melville Island, one of the Tiwi Islands located to the north of Darwin, as a 17-year-old in 1975 to join older brother Sebastian at South Fremantle. In 1980, he won the Simpson Medal as best afield in the WA Bulldogs’ Grand Final win, and made it two out of two in 1981.
Incredibly, the trio who crossed the Nullarbor at the end of 1981 lined up against each other – Rioli with Richmond and the Krakouers for North Melbourne – in the opening round of the 1982 VFL season at the MCG, with the Tigers taking the points.
Barely six months later, Rioli was again at centre stage on the MCG. Carlton defeated Richmond by three goals in the Grand Final, but Rioli starred for the Tigers and became the first man to be awarded the Norm Smith Medal as best afield in a losing side.
In six years and 118 games with the Tigers, Rioli went on to amass an outstanding CV. He won the Club’s Best and Fairest in 1982 and 1983, finished second in the Brownlow Medal in 1983 and was an All-Australian in 1982, 1983 and 1986.
Having been at the core of an era that changed the game forever, Rioli will return to the MCG this Saturday for another event that may leave an equally indelible mark on the AFL.
To coincide with NAIDOC (National Aboriginal Islander Day Observance Committee) Week, Richmond and Essendon are hoping to create a football event to rival Anzac Day. ‘Dreamtime at the G’ will be an annual tribute to the indigenous contribution to Australian Football.
Rioli said it was appropriate that two clubs pivotal in their support of indigenous football talent, through names such as Michael Long, Gavin Wanganeen, Andrew Krakouer and Richard Tambling, should throw their support behind NAIDOC Week.
“It’s worthy recognition for the week and recognising the Aboriginal contribution to the game,” Rioli said. “Richmond and Essendon have led the way for recruiting Aboriginal players from throughout the nation.”
Rioli has fond memories of his time at Punt Road, where he became just the second Aboriginal player (behind Derek Peardon, 1968-71) to pull on the famous Yellow and Black.
“Coming over to Melbourne was every young footballer’s dream,” Rioli said. “What struck me straight away was the professionalism, the intense competition, not only opposition players, but from your own teammates for positions in the team.
“I did come over with a fairly high reputation, but you had people like Geoff Raines, Bryan Wood, Barry Rowlings and Robert Wiley, big names at that time, and it wasn’t going to be easy to get into the side.”
The concept of the AFL’s Racial and Religious Vilification Policy was still more than a decade away in 1982. The racial taunts were an ugly aspect of the game that Jim Krakouer never came to grips with, and he was a regular visitor to the Tribunal after reacting to many such comments with his fists. Rioli, in contrast, was never reported.
“I don’t think I was treated any differently to any other player,” he said. “I came prepared for any treatment from opposition players, verbal abuse, any racial attacks, whatever. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
“Some players are able to accept it and get on with the game. Others aren’t able to accept the tactic, and retaliate.
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“I didn’t notice any abuse of any type which required me to become angry or retaliate or get even, I just got on with playing the game.”
Rioli’s football career continued in the West after he left the Tigers at the end of the 1987 season. He returned to South Fremantle in 1988 and captained the side to the 1989 WAFL Grand Final. He also captained the victorious Northern Territory side at the Bicentennial State-of-Origin Carnival in 1988.
After hanging up his boots, Rioli turned to another highly competitive arena – politics. He held the state seat of Arafura in the NT Parliament from 1992 until 2001, a period that included a stint as shadow Minister for Sport.
After retiring at the 2001 State election, Rioli is now back home on Melville Island, where he is community services manager for the Milikapiti Council. Although he now has no formal involvement in football, Rioli retains an intense interest in the game, particularly in the Tiwi Islands, where he again makes his home.
“People still love their football here. There’s a lot of interest, from every little kid to every adult on the islands,” Rioli said.
Appropriately, it’s players like Tambling, Jim Krakouer’s son Andrew, and Bomber Dean Rioli (Maurice’s cousin) that Rioli will be paying closest attention to when he returns to the MCG this week. “I’ll keep an eye on them and follow them with interest,” he said.
The importance of players like Maurice Rioli to the development of a strong and healthy indigenous culture in Australian Football cannot be understated.
From 1906 to 1980, just 18 men of Aboriginal descent played an AFL/VFL game. In 2005, there were 52 players on AFL lists, representing about seven percent of total AFL players.
All owe a debt of gratitude to men such as Maurice Rioli . . .
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