HAWTHORN superstar Cyril Rioli briefly contemplated AFL retirement after his father suffered a near-fatal heart attack.
The 28-year-old has spoken candidly about the family health scare, saying it rocked him to his core.
His father, also named Cyril, suffered the heart attack just before last year's AFL Grand Final.
The Hawks gave Rioli extended time off in November to be with his family in the Northern Territory.
One of the Hawks' most important players only returned to full training about five weeks ago and is unsure whether he will be ready for round one of the regular season.
But Rioli is just glad his father is making a good recovery.
"It shook me up quite a bit ... he was classed (as) dead," Rioli said.
"I wanted to spend as much time as I could with him in the off-season.
"He's made a good recovery."
Rioli was asked if the family crisis made him think about his AFL career.
"A lot of things were going through my head - to get the phone call, that he'd had a heart attack," he said.
"They weren't too sure if he was going to make it.
"That was one of the things - if I can keep my Dad and get rid of all the accolades I've had, I definitely would have, without a doubt.
"It made me appreciate life a lot more and it was something I really needed."
Cyril Rioli at a new mural in Hawthorn's Glenferrie Rd heartland. Picture: AFL Photos
Rioli trained as best he could while he was on leave and is in the middle of a 10-week block back at Hawthorn.
He was asked if he would be ready for round one.
"I'm not too sure ... we'll just try and get a good block of training out and get my fitness up," he said.
"We'll have to wait until match committee."
Rioli added he was grateful to the club for the extra time off.
"I thought I was ahead of where I thought I would be," he said of his fitness back in Melbourne.
"We said we'd get a good 10-week block out of training and assess after that.
"Mentally and physically, I feel pretty good."
Rioli and the Hawks had a year to forget - apart from his father's illness, he only managed a handful of games because of a knee injury and the club dropped out of the top eight.
"It was pretty tough, last season," he said.
"Especially watching from the sidelines, it hurt a bit and I know a lot of the guys would be hurting as well after the year we had.
"I'm looking forward to this season. The body's right and I'm glad I will be out there."
Rioli and teammates Jaeger O'Meara and Ryan Burton were in Hawthorn's Glenferrie Rd heartland on Tuesday at the launch of a giant mural of the trio.
The mural, with Rioli at the centre, was commissioned to mark a new five-year deal with Adidas.
