'Everything happens for a reason': Rioli ahead of 100th
Saying "everything happens for a reason", Willie Rioli is proud to reach 100 AFL games in the Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
"If I do start to get dementia or something, for some reason, I will remember this game," Port Adelaide's Indigenous small forward said with a shy smile.
Rioli, 29, will reach the milestone on Saturday night, against Fremantle in Perth, after a tumultuous few weeks.
First there was Port's Gather Round grudge match against Hawthorn last month and Rioli's fiery social media post that followed.
Then came the game against the Western Bulldogs and his fine for striking Bailey Dale, followed by the revelation he had sent a threatening post-game message to one of Dale's teammates.
That in turn exploded into more controversy, with a widely criticised AFL investigation, two previous on-field threats to opponents made public, eventually a one-game suspension for Rioli and warnings from Port about racism in the game.
Port released an in-club video interview with Rioli on Friday and those matters were not broached, but the softly-spoken goalsneak was very mindful of where his football has brought him.
"I always say everything happens for a reason and I'm kind-of grateful it landed on this day," Rioli said of reaching 100 games in the AFL's showcase Indigenous round.
"Obviously I'm a proud, proud cultural boy and something I carry really close to my heart is playing for everyone back home, every Indigenous kid who feels like the AFL is a long way from them."
Rioli also spoke of his father, Willie Snr, a Northern Territory football great and a key member of the game's famous Rioli-Long dynasty.
Rioli Snr died in 2022 and Willie said their last conversation came as he was about to return from the drugs controversies that nearly wrecked his career.
"When I knew I was coming back (to football), my Dad said to me 'son, everyone knows you can play the game, it's how you conduct yourself outside of football, it's how you're going to change your image'," he said.
Rioli's father impressed on him the need to give back to fans.
"You just never know what they might be going through outside of football - just a 'hello' and a friendly chat might change their whole life, their whole perspective or their whole day," he said.
Rioli was a premiership player at West Coast in his debut 2018 season and he played 51 games for the Eagles.
But first he was banned for substituting urine during two separate anti-doping tests, and he was in the spotlight again in 2021 when he was caught in possession of marijuana at Darwin airport, leading to him being placed on a good behaviour bond.
The Eagles were disappointed when he sought a trade to Port after the 2022 season, which he said on Friday was to be closer to family.
Rioli said he will be forever grateful to West Coast for his AFL opportunity.
"My Dad always says to me, 'son, you're a product of your environment', so everywhere you go ... you learn and pick up certain stuff, certain ways, certain attributes, certain beliefs," he said.
"That club has certainly shaped me into the person I am today. I still have a great relationship with a lot of my premiership teammates."
He said the move to Port made him think about what he could still do in the AFL and he praised the Power for their work in the Indigenous community.
"My biggest thing, when I got back to footy, was how long I have left to play. That was something I looked at - really, just to get to 100 games and then see where we go from there," he said.
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