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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following article contains the name of a deceased person.
Port Adelaide have come to goalsneak Willie Rioli’s defence after he teed off at Hawthorn in a since-deleted Instagram post following the Power’s upset win on Sunday night, but acknowledge it was ‘not the appropriate forum’ for the comments.
Rioli has since taken leave from the club, with no timeline on the 29-year-old’s return ahead of Sunday’s game in Sydney.
The Power reignited their spluttering season with a 30-point win on Sunday night to finish Gather Round, including a stunning start in which they led by as much as 71 points midway through the second quarter.
Taking to Instagram after the match, Rioli revealed his ‘hatred’ for the Hawks goes beyond any of his teammates, referring to the club’s treatment of famous cousin Cyril, who recently took the club to court over racism allegations, and father Willie Sr, who was at the Hawks for one year in 1991 before being delisted, and who passed away in 2022.
“Play with fire, your [sic] gonna get burnt,” Rioli wrote.
“My hatred for this club goes way pass [sic] last year antics, what they did to my dad, an [sic] my brother [Cyril Rioli], is why I can’t stand them, not the players #Cococlub.”
The post was quickly deleted, though Rioli received racist and abusive messages in response, which AFL Players Association CEO Paul Marsh slammed in a statement.
“The racist and homophobic comments sent to Willie on his social media accounts are beyond unacceptable,” the statement read.
“For what feels like the 1000th time, we ask these so-called football supporters to stop racially abusing the players.”
The Power issued a statement of their own on Monday evening, saying they would support Rioli and his family.
“Willie Rioli and his family continue to carry deep-seated pain and sadness from past family experiences,” the statement reads.
“Despite the depth of feeling Willie and his family have, social media was not the appropriate forum for Willie to share his emotions last night. Willie understands this.
“Willie’s welfare remains our priority, and the club will continue to provide support for Willie and his family through this time.”
Speaking on Nine’s Footy Classified, reporter Tom Morris revealed Rioli’s stinging bake of the Hawks was fuelled by Cyril Rioli’s allegation of racism during his time at the club between 2008 and 2017, as well as a perceived slight of his father by Hawks legend Jason Dunstall at the 2024 AFL Hall of Fame dinner during which he was elevated to Legend status.
“In 14 years at the club, I only ever beat two people in any form of endurance,” Dunstall said.
“We had a young man come down from the Top End by the name of Willie Rioli… I don’t think Willie had done a lot of conditioning. He looked like an 18-gallon keg with legs.”
Rioli was at the centre of a major skirmish on a heated night, cheekily showing Hawks defender Changkuoth Jiath the ball before kicking the game-sealing goal in the final quarter, with Jiath reacting by shoving Rioli to the ground and giving away a second free kick and goal, while also triggering a heated fracas.
It was one of several spotfires that pockmarked the evening, with the Power and Hawks only adding to their developing rivalry that began after Port’s thrilling semi final win last year, when coach Ken Hinkley taunted Hawks gun Jack Ginnivan over a social media comment to spark a heated war of words between the coach and Hawks captain James Sicily.
The rivalry extended to Power supporters, who taunted Hawks players as they left the Adelaide Oval with ‘aeroplane’ gestures, in reference to Hinkley’s mockery of Ginnivan.
Speaking after the match, Hinkley downplayed the budding rivalry and his own role in reigniting it.
“The rivalry in sport is great… we sometimes overplay it a little bit,” he said.
“Both sides will embrace rivalry and we always are up for any of those sorts of things but let’s not let them go too far the wrong way.”
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