Rioli can make the footy talk

IN an AFL grand final of unusual narratives, Willie Rioli’s transformation from podgy teenager to goalkicking wizard ranks with the very best.

The tale of a homesick year 11 boarder at Xavier College who lost 15kg to ensure his footy dream became a reality sits comfortably with a Texas soccer player and a former Uber driver in a grand final full of unusual stories.

If the late Bob Davis were alive, he would say Willie Rioli “can make the ball talk”, such are the foot skills of the young man from the Tiwi Islands whose route to the AFL involved stints in Melbourne in 2013, Perth in 2014 and Adelaide in 2015-16.

As a Rioli and, as such, part of AFL royalty, the journey of the 23year-old has been a far more roundabout one than those of his cousins Cyril and Daniel.

And it includes a lifethreatening pneumonia-related virus at age 16 when he was in a coma for nine days.

Rioli doesn’t speak about it often other than to say he was “sick — very, very sick”, and that he still requires a needle once a month.

That was around the time he travelled from the islands to board at Xavier College, a move Cyril had made 10 years earlier at Scotch College.

Dan Richardson, now Essendon’s general manager of football, coached Rioli at Xavier in his year 11 season.

“He always had great skills, particularly around goal with his kicking ability. Plus, he had the lateral movement, even if he wasn’t nearly as fit as he is now. There is a significant physical difference,” Richardson said.

Hawthorn player development manager Cam Matthews was also employed at Xavier and smiles at his recollections of Rioli.

“He was a great kid, even if he didn’t go to class very often. He would spend most of his time in our office watching footage of Xavier footy games. A student of the game, as distinct from an academic student,” Matthews said.

“Prior to training he would take a bucket of footballs to the boundary line and put on a highlight show. That’s why every time I watch him have a set shot for the Eagles, I think he will kick the goal nine times out of 10. A freak with ball in hand.

“When I first got to Hawthorn, Cyril used to say that Willie was the most talented of the lot.”

Rioli family history points to Willie and West Coast winning at the MCG today.

His father, Willie Sr, was drafted by Hawthorn in 1990, a year before the Hawks won the flag. In 1999, Essendon drafted Dean Rioli and won a flag the next year. Then the Hawks won in 2008, a year after selecting Cyril. More recently, Richmond took Daniel in 2015 and won in 2017.

Is today Willie’s turn after he was taken with pick 52 by the Eagles in 2016?