BRAYDEN Rioli, brother of Richmond premiership forward Daniel, will be unleashed on the national stage alongside his cousins Maurice Rioli jnr and Jacob Long next week.
They are all part of the Northern Territory Thunder team for the NAB AFL Under-16 Championships and will follow in the footsteps of their legendary family members.
Ex-North Melbourne forward Matt Campbell, AFLNT's development coach, is in charge of the side, which includes promising prospects Joel Jeffrey, Brodie Lake, Tyrrell Lui and over-ager Robbie Campbell.
Brayden, 16, was set to start at Scotch College – where Hawthorn champion Cyril Rioli attended – with Maurice, 15, this year, but those plans were shelved.
ANOTHER RIOLI Youngster follows Cyril's path to the AFL
Daniel Rioli graduated from St Patrick's College in Ballarat and also played TAC Cup football for the North Ballarat Rebels.
"(Brayden and Maurice) are totally different players," Campbell told AFL.com.au.
"Maurice loves to get in and under and tackle and put pressure on, whereas Brayden is your typical Tiwi Islands player who loves a goal and has that X-factor about him.
"Young Jacob is a lightly framed winger/half-back with very good skills who is still learning about his body and how to play the game, and that's where most of these kids are at 15, 16."
Campbell said the talented trio earned their squad spots on their work ethic, as much as their ability.
"We try not to pick players on names, but the fact they turn up and come to training," he said.
"They know the history. I'm sure Maurice Rioli will deal with the pressure of being a Rioli and the footsteps to follow, but he turns up and works hard.
"He's not out there saying, 'Give me the ball, because I'm a Rioli'. He's out there saying, 'Hey, I'm your teammate, I'm going to help you win'.
"We're also mindful that just because he has that name, we don't want to drop him in the deep end and say, 'You're a Rioli, you need to go out there and play well'."
Campbell, a 17-year-old inside midfielder with a high work-rate and leadership qualities, is treading a similar path to Darwin-raised Brisbane rising star Zac Bailey.
Bailey played as an over-ager in the under-16s, then burst onto the scene a year later to earn under-18 All Australian honours and eventually be a first-round draft pick.
Campbell has struggled with a foot stress fracture in recent times that curbed his development, but he had some exposure in this year's 18s championships and is on his way back to full health.
The NT's first game is against NSW/ACT at Blacktown International Sports Park on Monday.
