Daniel Rioli on pressure, Richmond, Damien Hardwick, Richmond 2017 indigenous Dreamtime guernsey jumperLauren Wood
Herald Sun
5 May 2017THEY call him “Scrumptious”, this relative of the “Delicious” Cyril Rioli.
Daniel Rioli bears one of football’s most famous names but the 20-year-old is determined to make his own mark.
His great-uncle Maurice — who Rioli calls his grandfather — played 118 games in yellow and black and won the 1982 Norm Smith medal.
Uncle Dean played 100 games for Essendon, booting 91 goals.
And his father Bradley’s cousin Cyril, or “Junior”, has three All-Australian gongs, a Norm Smith medal and four premiership medallions in his collection after 183 games for Hawthorn.
Not bad.
The electric young Tiger knew he came to Punt Road at the end of 2015 with the surname and its associated pressure in tow, but is set on sticking to his own style.
At the moment, it’s working.
“Having the Rioli name, there is a bit of pressure there but I kind of put it at the back of my head and play my own brand of footy that I’ve been playing since I was a kid,” Rioli says.
“It’s just footy. You’ve got your own brand that you play.
“Junior plays his own brand of footy, my uncle played his own brand of footy, my grandfather Maurice played his own brand of footy at Richmond.
“Now it’s time for me to make my own name for myself and play my own brand of footy.”
The slick, quick small forward made the shift from the Tiwi Islands aged 14, flying to Melbourne before catching a bus to Ballarat to join St Patrick’s College’s indigenous program.
It was cold, but he thought it was a good idea.
He boarded at the school for a few years, and since joining the Tigers calls a new place home with a couple of new “boarding house masters” — Damien and Danielle Hardwick.
Yes, the Richmond coach, his wife and their three children.
It wasn’t Rioli’s idea, he admits, moving in soon after the 2015 national draft with new teammate and now close friend Mabior Chol.
Chol soon found a host family — Rioli was “the only one left” and has remained. He loved it, and still does.
“I was nervous coming into the system and to think I was staying with the coach was a bit nerve-racking,” Rioli says.
“It’s not that difficult now — I’m slotting in easily.”
There’s Hardwick the coach and then Hardwick the “family man”, according to Rioli, who has forged a close friendship with the coach’s son Ben, who is the same age.
He admits he was surprised at the “around the house” Hardwick — he thought there’d be more of a tendency for the top Tiger to be talking tactics.
“I actually thought when I first moved in that he’d be more into footy and talking about footy 24/7,” Rioli says.
“But he gets along so well with everyone and makes jokes in the house. It’s perfect with Dimma. When he’s at home, he’s a family man. When he’s out coaching, he’s the coach and he’s really full on.”
Rioli said he knows he’ll have to leave the Hardwicks’ bayside home eventually — “At some stage I’ll have to get the boot” —. but he hopes just not yet.
Teammate Shane Edwards credits the Hardwicks for the role they have played in helping develop Rioli, who he says is “slowly coming out of his shell”.
“I forget that he’s 20,” Edwards says.
“You assume that he’s maybe a six or seven-year player the way he talks about the game. His family has raised him really well ... and (living with the Hardwicks) has just been the perfect setting for him to thrive, and that’s what he’s doing.”
It took some time to get him out of that shell.
“Early days, some of the guys didn’t know that he was really funny, because he was so quiet,” Edwards explains.
“But this year, I have little cracks at him saying ‘remember that little kid from Tiwi that came in last year that was really polite and humble? Where did he go?’ He’s really funny. He’s extremely humble and he loves having a laugh.”
Richmond is facing a mettle-testing month, with meetings with the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night, Fremantle and Greater Western Sydney before the blockbuster Dreamtime at the ‘G against Essendon in Round 10.
It’s a game Rioli travelled to watch with a handful of his fellow St Patrick’s boarders a few times.
“I thought to myself then that ‘hopefully I can be there’,” Rioli says.
“It came and now to be drafted at the Tigers and to be that kid out there playing in Dreamtime is an unreal feeling. It’s an exciting time and it gets you so pumped up. I can’t wait.
“You’re not only representing yourself, you’re representing the whole indigenous community around Australia.”
Daniel catches up with cousin Cyril often, mostly just for a coffee and a chat. Sometimes about footy, sometimes not.
Rioli said he needs to build his body up like the Hawks star did and plans to “hit the gym more”.
Sponging off his teammates’ nous isn’t going astray, either, as the young gun not only looks to the likes of skipper Trent Cotchin and superstar midfielder Dustin Martin to polish his game smarts, but All-Australian defender Alex Rance in an effort to get under the skin of his opponents.
“Whenever I’m playing against backs, Rancey tells me what he hates about playing against a forward,” Rioli says.
“He hates me moving around so much or being so quick or whatever it may be. I try and take that out on game day. I’ll definitely use that.
“I get along with everyone at the club and they teach me.
“Being a young player coming into the system, I look at Trent Cotchin having a big career now. I want to be that sort of player that can play 100 or 200 more games ... maybe.”
RICHMOND’S indigenous jumper holds a special place for Daniel Rioli.Not only is this year’s guernsey — the club’s seventh — inspired by the Tiger talent and teammate Nathan Drummond, it’s been developed by someone he’s known for years.
The guernsey was designed by Josh Muir, who has overcome addiction and depression to emerge as a promising artist.
He also visited Rioli’s school, St Patrick’s in Ballarat, some years ago.
“I’ve been close with him — he came to my school when I was at St Pat’s, so I know him through that,” Rioli said.
“I’m just so excited and I can’t wait to run out with it. I think it’s the best one yet.”
Muir, a Yorta Yorta contemporary artist from Ballarat found solace and healing in art, with the guernsey design fusing Tiwi Island and Yorta Yorta influences to depict peace, love and unity.
“(It incorporates) Bunjil the creator and the old people, using the traditional colours of Richmond designed around the sash,” Muir said.
“Bunjil is seen as a creator traditionally, and the old men are our elders, which is a really important part of our culture, paying respect to our elders.
“They fuse together to acknowledge the creator — past and present and the emerging of Aboriginal culture.”
And Rioli has admitted that despite their relationship, he was caught by surprise when he learned that Muir was behind this year’s design.
“I didn’t know he was going to come in,” he said.
“He did and I was pretty surprised. It’s good to have someone around that you know. It’s great for him to design the jumper and with me being so close to him, it’s unreal.”
Teammate Shane Edwards agreed.
“I feel like I say this every year ... but with the bright flashes, it’s the best one yet,” he smiled.
The jumper also features the number 67 on its back, paying tribute to the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum where Australians voted in favour of recognising indigenous Australians in the constitution.
All proceeds from the sale of Dreamtime at the G items go to the Korin Gamadji Institute and Richmond’s indigenous programs.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/daniel-rioli-feels-pressure-of-rioli-name-but-is-playing-footy-his-way-and-making-his-own-mark/news-story/740f34e7647dc6b1e5a6259110abfc65
