- Oct 19, 2020
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I remember The Ghost telling me years ago that Senior was the greatest tackler he’d ever seen. Any training drills involving tackling you just couldn’t get past him. On the ground on game day he’d lay tackle after tackle. MJ shows the same tackling energy.
Hey Drofder
If you get the chance can you elaborate on the story? That's the stuff I love reading about here the most of all.
Kind regards Jonno
Was being coached by Robert Shaw. We’d regularly have Sheedy and Essendon players at training as well as guys Shaw knew from his playing days - including Jim Jess amongst them.
Jim spent a week with us recovering from injury and training with us and getting away from the media attention. (Essendon players did it all the time with us too.)
Shaw was a huge Rioli fan and had pictures plastered around the locker rooms of him on the walls. He’d often make reference to how he played. This night with the Ghost Shaw asked him to take a tackling drill and to explain, if he could, how Rioli did it. So Ghost started off saying he was the best, most ferocious tackler he’d ever seen, and then tried to teach us what he thought made him so good - which largely revolved around patience and going low at the right moment.
Maybe he plays in the granny with Daniel and Bruce ends up having a heart attack after a particularly dazzling piece of play by the cousins.We have to be careful... no precedent for 2 Rioli’s and a flag guarantee.
A risky game!!
Welcome to our Tigerland MJ. You're free now to be your own man here. With your own number and your own style. Here's hoping you have great Tiger career.
On SM-J250F using BigFooty.com mobile app
Can’t wait for a he generic pick of him standing in front of his dads portraitwhere are the maurice rioli jnr first day of training pics ? i am disappoint
CoolCan’t wait for a he generic pick of him standing in front of his dads portrait
He comes from the ultimate football royalty. What does Maurice Rioli Jr think about following in his father’s footsteps at the Tigers?Anyone have the Maurice Junior HUN article behind the paywall ?
Article says Dan and MJ are cousins.He comes from the ultimate football royalty. What does Maurice Rioli Jr think about following in his father’s footsteps at the Tigers?
Maurice Rioli Jr, the son of Richmond legend and 1982 Norm Smith medallist Maurice Rioli Snr, has told of his pride in following his dad’s footsteps to Tigerland.
Rioli Jr was taken at pick 51 in Wednesday’s AFL national draft, flew into Melbourne from Darwin this week and will join cousin and triple premiership player Daniel at Punt Rd.
He is expected to start training with the club’s first-to-fourth year players next week.
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“I have a few memories of him. I don’t think he taught me footy, I can’t remember really, he used to take me to watch the footy in Darwin or back on the Islands, the local footy,” Rioli Jr told Nine newspapers.
“He would take us out hunting. I love fishing. I catch barras most of the time. Turtle you have to wait like an hour for them to get up and get them. Go shooting, shoot geese, magpie geese.
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Maurice Rioli Jr is now a Tiger. Picture: Felicity Elliott/AFLNT Media.
“I watched a few highlights of dad, which was pretty good to see where I get my bits from him. I can see some bits. I don’t model myself on him. I’m more a small forward obviously and just – hard, I would say.” ’
Rioli Sr died on Christmas Day 2010, aged 53.
The 175cm Maurice Jr had been a border at Scotch College before the coronavirus crises and was good friends with schoolmate and No. 1 draft pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.
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He has represented the Northern Territory in the NAB League and played for famous Darwin club St Mary’s last summer. It is not yet known what number he will wear at Richmond. Cousin Daniel wears his father’s famous No. 17.
Essendon made a bid to snatch Rioli Jr at the draft by nominating him at pick 51. But Richmond quickly matched the offer and took him as a father-son selection.
His dad is a club great with the Tigers as a three-time All-Australian, dual best and fairest and the first Indigenous player in the league to win a Norm Smith Medal.
Maurice Rioli Jr in action. Picture: Felicity Elliott/AFLNT Media.
St Mary’s co-captain Shannon Rioli told the Herald Sun earlier this year that Maurice Jr had the classic Rioli traits exhibited by his other cousins, ex-Hawthorn star Cyril and West Coast goalsneak Willie: fierce tackling, repeat efforts, pace and an eye for goals.
“He’s a jet,” Shannon said.
“We keep saying with every Rioli that comes through, but he could be the best of the lot.
“He’s already been doing stuff with Richmond and I know other teams would be keen on him — they’d be silly if they weren’t.
“We knew he was pretty handy and from a young age he was always better than most kids his age, but last season he did some pretty special things. The way he’s going, it’s looking like Richmond.”
The hype grew in February after Rioli kicked four goals in a best-on-ground performance in a semi-final for St Mary’s, where his father began his career.
Article says Dan and MJ are cousins.
That's wrong.
MJ is actually Daniel's uncle.
yes that is right, despite being five years younger, MJ is Dan's uncle.
Aren’t they technical cousins once removed?
MJs cousin is Dans old man and Dans grandfather is Seniors brother. At least that’s my understanding of their family tree.
Exactly what i was going to say after watching his highlights.Young Maurice is gonna be terrific in our system with his run and tackling pressure.