In the lead-up to the 2010 “Dreamtime at the G” clash between Richmond and Essendon, we pay tribute to Maurice Rioli, the greatest indigenous player in Tigerland history . . .
Maurice Rioli had a mighty impact in just six seasons of VFL football with Richmond.
The Tigers won a hotly-contested race to snare the prized signature of Rioli, who had been a star with WA club South Fremantle, after making the trek to Perth from his Melville Island home.
Rioli would go on to play 118 games for Richmond from 1982-87 and kick 80 goals. He won the Club’s prestigious Jack Dyer Medal (Best and Fairest award) in his first two years at Punt Road (1982-83), collected the Norm Smith Medal for being best afield in the Tigers’ 1982 Grand Final loss to Carlton (the first player in a losing side to do so), and finished runner-up in the 1983 Brownlow Medal.
Former Richmond champion rover and current Club Relationship Manager, Dale Weightman, a teammate of Rioli’s throughout the 1980s, was glowing in his praise of the “Melville Island Magician”. . .
“I still remember the first time that I saw Maurice in action for us . . . It was a practice match against Carlton at Swan Hill early in ’82, and I reckon it was about 50 degrees Celsius - gee, it was hot! Maurice just showed then that, bloody hell, he was going to be a good player for us,” Weightman said.
“None of the Carlton blokes could touch him - he just weaved through them all. Then, when they got it, he just pounced on them . . . He was one of the best tacklers of all time. A few times during his career here, we actually got him to teach us how to tackle properly.
“He said you had to ‘draw’ from the hips - like the cowboys in the western movies. You don’t put your arms up high to tackle an opponent - you just draw from the hips and wrap them up that way - something he did so well.
“Maurice’s all-round football skills were magnificent. He just did things that you marvelled at - and no-one could lay a hand on him. That’s what amazed me the first time I saw him play. He was dodging and weaving . . . they’d be coming at him and he’d be going this way, that way.
“Maurice was so good in heavy traffic out on the field. It was just boom, boom, boom and next second he’d be gone, and opponents would be left floundering . . .
“So many times I saw blokes who thought they had him covered, and he’d just slide around them sideways and then slot the ball down the throat of one of our forwards. It was just brilliant to watch . . .”
Weightman rates Rioli as one of the best players that he not only played with - but one of the best he’s ever seen.
“He was just a magic player. He was always in the game, too, which is a big thing for the team.
“You always knew when Maurice was around the ball that you had a chance, whether it was a one-on-one situation, one-on-two, one-on-three, even one-on-four . . . As long as Maurice was the one, you always had a chance because he just had that ability to be able to beat opponents.”
An extract from the 1983 Richmond Football Club Annual Report, had this to say about Rioli’s exciting arrival on the league scene:
“No other player entering VFL ranks over the past couple of years has captured the imagination of football supporters more so than Maurice Rioli. Maurice epitomizes a great VFL player, courageous, skilled and dedicated to winning. The winner of the club Best and Fairest award in 1982, Maurice capped off a magnificent season again winning the Best and Fairest award and finishing runner-up in the coveted Brownlow Medal . . .”
