He is the AFL’s very own Superman, but Maurice Rioli junior has revealed his exhilarating chase-down tackles result from his days hunting on the Tiwi Islands.
The Richmond igniter has made a name for himself through his lunging, flying acrobatics which have brought down many an opponent.
There was last year’s iconic moment when he famously ran down West Coast’s Brody Hough at Optus Stadium, and he was back at it against the Blues in round one when Carlton’s Ollie Florent had no idea he was about to become Rioli’s latest kill.
Tackling requires skill and grunt, qualities Rioli honed as a youngster on the “Island of Smiles” when he and his family chased wallabies, possums and buffaloes for “bush tucker”.
There were cuts and bruises back then, and there was always a danger a cow or bull would lash out protecting their calf. Now opposition players are under siege.
“I feel like it’s just instinct playing as a small forward or wherever I am. I see an opponent, I just want to tackle them,” Rioli, 23, said in an interview with this masthead.
“Obviously, I am known for it. Growing up on the Tiwi Islands, going out hunting, chasing possum or whatever it is, wallabies, because we don’t have kangaroos there, or buffaloes. It’s just instinct growing up, chasing food back home, just hunting, and stuff like that.
“For us, growing up on the islands, it’s bush tucker, even climbing up a tree to shake a possum down. It was fun. I miss those good old days. It was one of those fun things back then, going out and hunting, and doing that kind of stuff. It was pretty cool.
“It was scary chasing a buffalo. We were after the calf … if it’s a mother or it’s a father with its big horns, it would turn around and chase you.”
It’s Rioli who is now scary to those within his vicinity. He had 10 chase-down tackles last year, equal second in the league. (Teammate Rhyan Mansell was first.) None was better than Rioli’s horizontal take-down of Hough in round 19; the holding the ball decision was the turning point in the Tigers’ stirring win.
Hough was steaming through the middle towards an open forward line when he failed to hear a warning of imminent trouble from teammate – and former Tiger – Liam Baker.
“That’s the chase of the decade,” former Eagle Chris Waterman said on the ABC at the time.
That Rioli sensed an opportunity to nab Hough even before the Eagle had taken possession made the unforgettable moment even more remarkable. Rioli, deep in the Tigers’ forward line, could see Hough, about 20 metres ahead of him, was open in the centre square for an uncontested mark when he decided to set off in pursuit.
Hough still had about 10 metres on Rioli when the former took possession. Hough took two bounces before he was dragged down on the third, just inside the centre square line.
Rioli was again in good form against the Blues in round one, and had commentator Kane Cornes jumping out of his seat when he nailed an unaware Ollie Florent in the centre square.
“The flying Superman tackle, look at it,” Kane Cornes exclaimed in commentary for Seven.
“Bang – did not even see him coming.”
Rioli’s pressure acts have long been the bedrock of his football. He had eight tackles in a VFL match against Frankston to earn his senior debut in 2021.
“He’s not sneaking up – he’s coming at high speed,” Tigers coach Adem Yze said this week.
“Like I said, the things he is doing off the ball are highlighted. And it’s not just those tackles. Obviously, he has done a few amazing efforts like that, but his off-ball running, the things that aren’t seen … are highlighted and celebrated.”
It’s this type of work that has made Rioli an increasingly important part of the Tigers’ rebuild. Pushing into the midfield after embracing the craft during a spell in the VFL last season will hopefully make him even more dangerous. He returned to the senior line-up against Geelong in round 17 last year, when he had a career-high 19 disposals and six inside 50s.
Rioli had only six touches against the Blues, but he said his GPS numbers “blew up”, which included his overall metres covered for the game (12km), sprinting, and ability to get from stoppage to stoppage.
Now in his sixth season at Punt Rd, Rioli said an arduous summer program had made him slimmer and fitter, but he concedes he still needs to improve his “tank”.
While he upped his fitness program with the Tigers, he also spent time working on his conditioning with a revitalised Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (the pair boarded together at Scotch College before they were both taken in the 2020 national draft), St Kilda veteran Brad Hill and GWS captain Toby Greene at a gym in Melbourne.
“It was pretty cool training with them, seeing how much work they put into themselves to get better and improve for the season ahead,” Rioli said.
On Saturday, with the Gold Coast Suns in town, he comes face to face with family, and may even match up, as he did last year, on former triple-premiership Tiger, Daniel Rioli. Despite Daniel being older, he is the nephew of Maurice, as Daniel is the son of Maurice’s older brother, Bradley.
Daniel is also from the Tiwi Islands, part of the famous Rioli football dynasty, which includes Maurice Sr, Cyril and Willie. Daniel was still a Tiger when he presented Maurice with his guernsey ahead of his senior debut against North Melbourne. The pair remains close, but that won’t count for much on game day.
“We had a bit of a scuffle there [at Marvel Stadium last year], but I was joking. Family means a lot to all of us, playing against a relative – that’s pretty special,” Rioli said.
Rioli was last year given the opportunity to don the No.17 guernsey worn by his late father Maurice senior, a Hall of Fame Tiger and the Norm Smith medallist of 1982, and Daniel in his time at Punt Rd.
He says he wants to do the number proud – he’s doing a good job of it.
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