2015 will go down as the year that Cyril Rioli finally cemented himself as a true star.
We’ve seen flashes of brilliance in his first seven seasons, but constant hamstring troubles and a habit of regularly going missing in games has hampered him.
While his disposals per game is the lowest it’s been since his debut season, thanks largely to spending less time in the midfield, his scoreboard impact and his influence on the outcome of games has been unmatched.
He has 34 goals from 19 games this season, and is almost certain to pass his best of 35 in a home-and-away season.
Similarly, he has already equalled his career best of 52 scoring shots.
Alastair Clarkson’s decision to play Rioli more permanently in the forward line has given Hawthorn a fourth serious scoring option alongside Jack Gunston, Luke Breust and Jarryd Roughead. Those four have combined for 159 goals this year.
Increased time in the forward fifty has resulted in four hauls of three goals or more which is significant, as across Rioli’s career Hawthorn have only lost three of the 22 games where he has kicked at least three goals. All three of those loses came during Hawthorn’s disappointing 2009 and 2010 campaigns.
Much has been made of the need to expose Hawthorn’s lack of midfield pace in order to bring down the reigning premiers, but keeping Rioli quiet is arguably just as important.
Excluding his debut season, Hawthorn have lost 42 per cent of games where Rioli kicked one goal or less, a significant rise from only losing 20 per cent of games where Rioli scored multiple goals.
Since day one Rioli’s ability at ground level has been well known. The majority of his highlights reel consists of goals created through forward pressure or his crafty ability to weave through four or five players after getting front and square at a contest.
However, Rioli’s aerial presence has increased significantly this year, resulting in a career high for marks inside 50 and making him an even tougher player to match-up on.
Very few sides have a defender readily available that can match Rioli for pace while also being able to compete with him in the air. This is why Rioli is such a headache for opposition coaches.
None of the other top four teams appear to have a player that they can automatically turn to and rely on to stop Rioli. Sydney have had extremely good results in using Alex Johnson, but a fourth knee reconstruction earlier this year means he will be nowhere in sight come finals time.
The next month will see countless hours poured into deconstructing Hawthorn’s game plan, and you can be assured that a significant portion of those hours will be spent worrying over who will line up next to the man wearing 33 in brown and gold.
Cyril Rioli is a true star of the game now and the rest of the competition is on alert.
JM
Guest
2008 Grandfinal beating two Geelong players on the wing - that is what Cyril can do. Last year in GF making tippet at al look slow. Has impact in big games. Who cares about the others.
Tim
Guest
As a rabid Hawks fan i can see why Rioli is over rated in many eyes, mainly in reaction to how over exaggerated the praise he gets in the Media. In my eyes, he has been more consistent this year, mainly for he has regained confidence in his body, but has been defined by flashiness in the past. When he is 'on', his brilliance is hard to top When i first saw him, my first thought was could he be as great as his immoral uncle Maurice Rioli who was one of the best midfielders the game has seen. If you want the definition of 'delicious', watch him play, or try to get videos of the combination he had with the immortal Stephen Michael at South Fremantle :)- truly mindblowing stuff.......... As for his place in the game amongst small forwards. To me; Chadd Wingard stands alone Then, i would have Cyril and Walters Betts?- I do not rate for i view him as a downhill skier, great against weaker teams, but invisible man against better teams Cripps is a fabulous young player, i do not see him in that company as yet LeCras- Fabulous, and vastly under rated player, but i see him more as a clever mid sized forward/mid in the Stevie J mould
Edgar Slosh
Roar Guru
I watch every match, every week.. Eddie Betts has had the most score assists in the last 6 years and has booted 50 goals in 3 of them. How many times has Rioli done that? He hasnt. Wingard is the more complete player. You just proved my point. Rioli has had 7 years of nothing much and a few good games and all of a sudden he's the best? Wait, is that you Bruce? You should try and watch every match for a year and then compare them
New York Hawk
Guest
Gotta love everyone bagging Cyril. If you don't watch him every week you don't understand. Slosh - as a "pro" your comments are the most disappointing. Is he as good as Wingard? Maybe, maybe not. Wingard is probably a more complete player. But Eddie Betts? Come on, Cyril is a hundred times better than Betts. Eddie puts on no forward pressure, and takes pot-shots from the boundary line, some of which go through. He has had s good 18 months but has never done anything against Hawthorn ever (who remembers his 200th against us last year?). It speaks volumes that Clarko brought him back into the side for the 2014 GF under an injury cloud and having missed a few months of footy. Carey has also said on many occasions that people who don't appreciate how good and valuable Cyril is don't understand the game. But you all know more about footy than Clarko and Carey so please keep sharing your wisdom.
mick
Guest
I chose Cyril.
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
Strange timing for an article given he was largely ineffective last week, if anything his stats flattered him. He plays about 1 good game every 4 weeks.
jax
Guest
"Very few sides have a defender readily available that can match Rioli for pace while also being able to compete with him in the air." WC have four defenders that can take him on eg Bennell, Yeo, Wellingham and Sheppard. Cyril kicked one goal last time they met. I'd take Wingard, LeCras and probably Cripps before I took Cyril.
MH
Guest
You could add WALTERS to the mix By any statistical measure he would be up that (goal snaps, high marks, tackling, etc, etc) Added to that he plays in a forward line which is sometimes dysfunctional or at best, still developing -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
Edgar Slosh
Roar Guru
Nothing wrong with throwing balance into it and comparing him against players that are more consistent
Kaks
Roar Guru
that headline made me cringe, come on paddy you're better than that
Max
Guest
Just saying. For me Cyril is a better player. Sure, he hasn't produced consistently over previous years. But in case you didn't notice this was about Cyril This year! The article was not about Wingard v Betts v Cyril, so lets keep the negativity about Cyril to a minimum, because that's not what this article is about.
Edgar Slosh
Roar Guru
Bit naive to be measuring a players worth by the amount of premierships he's won
Max
Guest
Sounds like a bit of a hate campaign towards Cyril as everyone has instantly brought out all the negatives! How many premierships have Wingard and Betts won so far??? A big fat 0.
Brandon Marlow
Roar Pro
Totally agree that Rioli has been majorly overrated in the past. Betts is without a doubt a better forward than Rioli and Wingard is without a doubt a better overall player, but I don't think either of them have the ability to turn a game as much as Rioli does. We also haven't seen Rioli go missing this year, so hopefully this is the start of him being able to shake the overrated tag.
Brandon Marlow
Roar Pro
In terms of consistency over their entire careers, I'd certainly take Wingard or Betts. Rioli seems to be moving in the right direction this year though, as you'd have be very harsh to say he's only been a brilliant bit part player.
Barneythecrab
Guest
Rioli ain't got nothing on wingard and betts, not even in the same ball park. Another overrated player from a Victorian team
Edgar Slosh
Roar Guru
Imagine you have choice between 2 players to bring to your club right this minute. Wingard or Rioli. Most people would choose Wingard. Betts Vs Rioli Most people would choose Betts Both Betts and Wingard have been more consisted over the last 3 years. In Betts case, the last 6 Rioli is nothing more than a flashy brilliant bit part player who has had a handful of great games over an 8 year injury interrupted career who relies on his team mates to make him look good. Put him in Melbourne or Brisbane and see how great he looks