When Willie Rioli helped the Eagles claim their fourth AFL premiership in 2018, we all thought the 25-year old was just getting started.
That year he kicked 28 goals. He became the new wiz. He was mercurial around goals but he took pride in his defensive pressure. This was a big step for Rioli who evolved, almost overnight, into an elite small forward.
This was the same kid who lost 16 kilos to get drafted in the AFL and the same humble talent that found a home with the Eagles but never forgot his Tiwi Island roots.
Fast forward almost three years and he could be on the verge of packing it all up, as Eagles coach Adam Simpson, the players, and key stakeholders are now deciding on what to do with Rioli after he was found with 24.2 grams of dope concealed on his body at Darwin Airport last week.
This was on top of a two-year ASADA ban he was serving that started in 2019 for testing positive for cannabis. The knee-jerk thing to do right now would be to offload him to another team and become someone else’s problem. But that would be the easy way out.
Willie Rioli of the Eagles (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
What we don’t know about Rioli is if he’s dealing with any depression or mental health struggles. The isolating ASADA ban can have this kind of effect. Without the day-to-day physical support of his club, no less through a global pandemic, it can be hard to stay the course, keep fit and stay mentally focused.
And once you start to think about Rioli’s plight and the potential personal turmoil he could be enduring, you automatically want him to feel supported by the football community. And while the words “drug use” can leave a lasting stain, Rioli shouldn’t be judged on his brief history of cannabis use, but rather, what he does next.
Eliza Reilly, a journalist who covered the Rioli trial in Darwin, said Willie looked distraught, nervous and scared. This is different to the family-first, humble, happy-go-lucky kid that we’re used to seeing on interviews. The timing of all this is horrendous which adds another wrinkle.
Rioli was on the verge of returning from the football abyss and was due to start training at West Coast on June 20, ahead of being eligible for action in Round 23. He’s still on track for this timeline but things could change pretty quickly if the Eagles throw a curveball at Willie.
Essendon legend Michael Long, Rioli’s uncle, said Willie needed a hand up not a hand out.
“He’s made mistakes and if he comes through the other end that’s a really important strong message,” Long said. “As a young man he knows he has to change his life for his own sake, for his own kids, for his own community.”
Dermott Brereton said football clubs have a mandate to make players better people than when they started. Consider, then, Rioli a work in progress.
Rioli’s mental health is the priority here and the Eagles need to see this through. It’s a tough quandary for the club. They might not get the return on Rioli they’d hoped for.
The track record he’s chalked up begs trust issues, but as most football media heads alluded to last week, the Eagles will have to go into this next phase with Willie with a pastoral approach and just accept that Rioli could relapse because cutting him now during a time of need would be brutally harsh and careless.
But it’s hard seeing the Eagles go down that road.
The hardest part that Rioli might have to accept is that sometimes trust can’t ever be fully earned back once it is lost. But if he’s willing to grind, work at it, get his focus back on football, this could be the start of a wonderful story about Rioli working his way back.
And that must be his goal. He must envision a future where he’s helped the Eagles to another premiership, where a journalist would write about how far he’s come and the maturity he’s shown to improve himself and do the work required to climb the mountain.
Rioli’s captain and coach spoke about their reactions to all of this chaotic news and although both were deeply disappointed, it was obvious that they had his back. Eagles captain Luke Shuey expressed his thoughts and said the club doesn’t condone his actions.
“He’s still one of us. (we need to) make sure he’s right mentally,” he said. “If he’s with us going forward, we’ll make sure everyone buys into that and all on board.”
And coach Adam Simpson said he’s willing to trust Rioli again. “No-one is perfect but we’re a football club as well and we represent a lot of people so try to do the right thing by them as well. That’s our challenge.”
No-one wants to think about the worst case scenario for Rioli and that is, him falling out of favour with the Eagles and spiralling.
In 2019 when he was caught tampering with a drug sample, he said “I’ve been proving doubters wrong my whole life. I’ll definitely come back bigger and better.” What Rioli must do is commit to repairing his relationship with his club and his teammates if given another chance to redeem himself.
Then give back to the club wholeheartedly, work on the best version of Willie Rioli and the rest will take care of itself.
Gerry
Roar Rookie
His footballing prowess is undeniable but he seems to lack quite a lot of maturity for his age and elite football status. He needs a mentor with a wise head otherwise I fear he could be close to blowing it all again. That would be the biggest and saddest thing. I think he is entitled to his personal opinions like anyone but for now he just needs to keep low profile and get back to his football magnificence. He has such a talented family please someone be his rock and get him through. We have missed his performances so much.
AdamDilligafThompson
Roar Rookie
this has nothing to do with asada but just shows how different things are in different states, like previously mentioned, you can have upto 28grams dried in S.A on you and its classed as personal and the worst you get is a on the spot fine as its been decriminalised here, you can try and work this one out but by law I'm allowed to grow one outdoor plant and its considered personal, but if i get caught with it, its a on the spot fine but nothing else, so I'm allowed to grow it but if I get caught I get fined. Go figure.lol. It actually costs more in S.A for cigarettes than it does weed, on average a oz costs about $220 here depending on who you know, A carton of JPS Reds cost anywhere from $240 to $260. So its more expensive to buy something that's legal than it does something that's illegal. Work that out.lol.
Snoop Eagle
Guest
I think we're both talking about two different points but nonetheless, re-read my last message and sounds condescending. Not my intention however I apologise for that. I enjoy discussions and try to look at things from other people's perspectives. My last comment was not conveying that tone. Sorry mate.
nics
Roar Rookie
There's a fine line between being naive and trusting and burying your head in the sand unfortunately.
Gerry
Roar Rookie
Nah he’s too good sorry completely disagree
Bangkokpussey
Roar Rookie
I think he should be banned for 6 matches and attend some rehab program and be drug tested once a week. To me, it is the look rather than the offence especially one that's repeated. To get rid of him only for him to go to another club is not a good look for the AFL either and he should not be picked up by any other AFL club. Banned completely for Mary in my eyes is a bridge too far. Some sanction though needs to be imposed and he needs to be told he is out of chances and that it is not acceptable at any AFL club.
The Dom is good
Roar Rookie
nice one Larrikin , id say supporters are blind and ignorant if they believe their team is pure and innocent of any wrongdoing. They just haven't been caught yet
Blitz
Guest
Woosha, and Nisbett for that matter didn’t bury their heads in the sand. They asked the club captain and the players if the rumours were true and they lied. Drug addicts and their enablers are very good at this and it’s well documented. Judd said Woosh is the most honest man in football when he was Blues captain on Open Mike (watch the replay). Parkin said something along the lines that there isn’t a better man in football than Woosha. Naive yes, trusting yes, burying their heads in the sand, no!
Jonboy
Roar Rookie
DeGoey is entitled to run around he is guilty of nothing. Willie has been found guilty on more than one occasion.He is 25 and needs to grow up he had a chance to have a career but he prefers drugs. Trying to find excuses is a complete cop out.
AdamDilligafThompson
Roar Rookie
opps i forgot about NSW, its definitely an east coast thing more than anything. Where it costs alot more money to get, thats where most people mix, to try and stretch it out, if that makes sense.
Aransan
Roar Rookie
Actually it was in NSW.
Larrikin
Roar Rookie
how many current footballers smoke pot ? id say heaps. anyone wishing to see Rioli hung from the rafters should think long and hard if anyone in their own club is or has smoked pot or for that matter anything worse that we dont know about yet. Every club has problems whether you want to admit it or not so dont yell to loud about what punishment should apply to Willie, take a good look at your own back yard.
sven
Roar Rookie
drinking Very Bitter will have that effect, horrible stuff
sven
Roar Rookie
ok fair enough the topic is young willie, but u did bring them up .... on topic, hope he gets another chance & grabs it with both hands - as long as he doesnt play too well against the tiges of course !!
shifty
Roar Rookie
Do you even understand that his positive test was in late August. So with your month or even if it was 3months, Willie is/was still hitting the bong in season.
AdamDilligafThompson
Roar Rookie
Again its weed not steroids.
Guswald
Guest
Unfortunately society is portending towards mass outrage without any rational thought regarding decisions and reactions. It’s evident that Willie has clearly had many chances and it’s dumbfounding that he could be in this situation once again however we as arm chair critics don’t walk in his shoes - we don’t know his life, his story that informs his decisions. It also seems outrageous that a man (De Goey) charged with indecent assault can continue to run around whilst we are quick to crucify a man who’s story we don’t know and who’s action has seemingly harmed no one but himself.
Scott
Guest
No the ban was for tampering. He wouldn’t have even gotten a ban for testing positive on game day to weed. The positive test was taken before he was told about the tampering charge. Didn’t they remove weed from the list since he was done? Genuine question for people, I remember reading about it, but can’t find the info. For all it’s worth, he’s been given a huge penalty already for basically just being an idiot. I know tampering with urine deserves a harsh penalty, but it’s quite clear he just panicked because he’s a stoner and a bit of an idiot. If he rocked up with someone else’s urine or put some specific substance in there, then he should’ve copped it sweet. That would be an intentional and premeditated crime. Trying to put Gatorade your drinking in there is a stoner move and a stupid one at that. Then the airport thing is just as dumb, but again, an idiot stoner move. When you look at what he has actually done, he hasn’t caused harm to a single other human being apart from himself. He has caused tremendous damage to himself, yet not a single other person on the planet has been harmed in the slightest. His crime doesn’t hold a candle to literally hundreds of other afl player offences over the years, yet he copped a harsher penalty then almost all of them. Murray Newman went to jail for a year for grevious bodily harm yet was kept on by west coast and only missed a year of footy. Krakouer got 4 years for GBH and walked back into the AFL. Warne got 1 year for taking a supposed performance enhancing diuretic. The Essendon players copped a year for injections. Wayne Carey I don’t think even missed a game for indecent assault on a girl. More players then I can count have been done for crashing a car drunk. How many nightclub fights, domestic assaults, sexual assaults etc. over the years, have all copped less than a 2 year ban. Well Willie smoked weed folks and apparently that’s career over, think about that! Yes he was an idiot and deserves punishment, but I’ll say it again. Willie smoked weed, that is all
Snoop Eagle
Guest
Do you even understand what they drug test for weed. THC COOH which is a metabolite that can last in your system for over a month, even though it's not an inhibiting factor. Just an indication of use. The inhibition wouldn't last more than 24 hours. And it's inhibition. Not performance enhancing. In this capitalistic society our values are governed by the reputation of sponsors. Wake up!
Jack
Guest
Pot is not a performance enhancing drug. Ever played stoned.? Not much fun. Football is really violent man. It’s not even a criminal offence in Canberra. Sanctimonious rubbish. Give the young bloke a break.