The Tigers will have to wait until November next year to choose Rioli Jr as a father-son selection amid conjecture about where he lays in the draft pecking order.
Draft watchers don’t yet have him high or even mid-table in the draft but, as AFL talent manager Kevin Sheehan said, his cousin Daniel emerged only in his final draft year.
The mere mention of Rioli Jr’s name is enough to make Tigers fans weak at the knees, given a pedigree that saw his father win the 1982 Norm Smith 33 years before cousin Cyril’s best-afield display in the 2015 Grand Final.
Maurice Jr will spend his year with Richmond steering a program that will include school games at Scotch College, the NAB League with Oakleigh Chargers and the under-18 championships with the Northern Territory.
“I remember with Daniel Rioli it wasn’t until about July of his 18th year where he played a game for NT and you thought: ‘This kid’s future is unfolding in front of our eyes’,” Sheehan said.
Source: Herald-Sun
