Tigers young gun ‘flying’
Rioli praises his cousin as standout in pre-season training
DANIEL Rioli says his cousin Maurice Rioli Jr is “flying” on the track as Richmond players enjoy an unusual training camp in Apollo Bay.
Rioli said coach Damien Hardwick had kept the Tigers guessing on the first two days of their pre-season trip, with team-bonding activities, including competitive sandcastle building and kayaking.
While he proved a revelation with his line-breaking run and excellent ball use off halfback in 2022, Rioli said he was finding gaining metres significantly harder with a paddle in hand.
“Definitely not me and Bigoa (Nyuon),” he said when asked on Wednesday who the standouts had been on the water. “We both went sideways in and out of the lake – we ended up on the sandbank, then back in the river and back on the sandbank.
“A few blokes are pretty natural at it, but I’d say probably not me and Biggie. Definitely not Biggie.”
Rioli said the playing group had been kept in the dark over what was to come on the camp.
“Dimma always keeps it close to his chest, he doesn’t give us much, just that smirky look and tries to get us a bit jittery and nervous,” he said.
“It’s a mystery – we just see what activities we’re about to do, and if it’s hiking, if it’s mountain bike riding, it’s definitely not going to be easy.”
Rioli said his cousin Maurice had been a standout on the training track over the pre-season and was likely to spend more time up the field as the Richmond coaches work with him to increase his scoreboard impact.
Rioli Jr only averaged one goal and eight disposals per game in 2022, but his defensive efforts outshone the league’s premier small forwards, forcing the most scores from turnovers of any player during the home-and-away season.
“I think the coaches have full faith in Maurice to go and enter the stoppage at any stage – if Shai (Bolton) doesn’t want to go into stoppages he can take Maurice and say, ‘ go into the stoppage and play there for a bit’,” Daniel said.
“Maurice is growing into any role now and the coaches are really having faith in what he can bring on the field.
“The more games he plays, a lot better he’s going to be for us offensively, and obviously defensively he doesn’t have to worry about that because he’s been very good for us in that area.”
Nyuon had also impressed in training and could contend for a spot in the back six, with Josh Gibcus sidelined with a hamstring injury, Rioli said.
Richmond will play North Melbourne in a six-quarter scratch match at Arden Street on February 24, with an official practice match locked in at Casey Fields against Melbourne on March 4.