Maurice Rioli - Mr Magic

[Tigers of Old]

I'm dedicating this thread to my favourite ever Richmond player, Maurice Rioli.

Absolutely pure class was the number 17 known as 'Mr Magic'.

Debut: 20 March 1982, Richmond vs. Fitzroy, at Waverley Park
Richmond Career: (1982-1987)
Games: 118
Goals: 80
Height: 175cm
Weight: 73kg

He arrived at Richmond from South Fremantle at the seasoned age from 24 but had an immediate impact in the VFL..

This from Wiki

The Tigers awarded Rioli the number 17 made famous by Jack Dyer. Richmond supporters quickly warmed to their much-heralded recruit, who specialised in the audacious baulk, the pinpoint foot pass and the lightening-fast handball. His ability to work the ball out of packs and congestion was uncanny. Although his leg speed wasn't very fast, his quick mind appeared several steps ahead of the play and he had no problem adjusting to the faster tempo of Victorian football.

This was just as well, because the Tigers opted to play him in his favoured centre position where Geoff Raines had dominated.
For the previous five years, Raines was the best player in the team (winning three best and fairest awards) and acknowledged the best centreman in the competition, but he was moved to accommodate Rioli. The change worked well and Richmond finished the season on top of the ladder for the first time since 1974. The Tigers booked a berth in the Grand Final with a comfortable win in the semi final against Carlton.

Pitted once more against Carlton, Richmond went into the big match as a slight favourite. However, the Tigers lost the match after leading at half-time. Rioli created history by winning the Norm Smith medal as best afield, the first aborigine and first player from a losing team to do so. Shortly after, Rioli won the club's best and fairest to cap an amazing first season. But problems lay immediately ahead. Raines approached the club and requested a contract commensurate with Rioli's earnings. When refused, Raines walked out and asked for a clearance to Collingwood. Other prominent players fell into financial dispute with the club and left; the decimated team struggled and finished third last in 1983.

But Rioli had another stellar season, again winning the best and fairest, finishing runner-up in the Brownlow medal and winning West Australian and All-Australian selection. An acknowledged star of the game and the best player at the club, Rioli continued to stand out in a mediocre team. He represented Australia at Gaelic football against Ireland and was an immediate choice for West Australia in state of origin matches.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Rioli

I would kill to have a player of Maurice's ilk at Richmond again.
Unfortunately we haven't had anyone that good, with that class in the guts at Richmond for a long time.
I struggle to compare a modern day player who had skills the equal of Maurice.

Unfortunately I was only a young teenager when I saw him at his best and probably not quite footy experienced enough to truly appreciate his value but anyone who moved a bonified super star like Geoff Raines out of the centre had to be pretty damn special.

He was absolutely awesome in the losing grand final to the Blues in '82 picking up the Norm Smith medal in the process.
Amazingly this was in his first season at the club.

Hard to believe his career only lasted 6 years with the Tigers given the impact he had.
His VFL career was over at 30.

Rioli was named in the centre in the indigenous team of the century and is widely recognised as one of if not the best aboriginal footballer to play the game.

Thanks for the memories Maurice. 8)

If anyone out there has some footage, photos or just memories they'd like to share on this great Tiger please do so.

 

[Freezer]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

Didn't realise he was so small - 175cm and 73kg. Certainly knew how to get it. An early version of Matty Knights.

 

[damian]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

with all due respect to matty knights, he would'nt of got anywhere near the great maurice.

 

[Freezer]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

with all due respect to matty knights, he would'nt of got anywhere near the great maurice.

Big call. I think a lot of people underestimate just how good Knights was. He was our standout player during a sustained period of team failure (which is still going :duh). Maurice was an extremely special player, but no more so than Knighter.

Games: 279
Goals: 141
Best and Fairest: 1990, 1992
Club Captain 1997-2000
Vic Team 6 times
All-Australian 1998
Richmond Football Club Team of The Century
AFL Life Member
Youngest player ever to win Best & Fairest

But let's not digress - this is about Mr Magic.

 

[Chiang Mai Tiger]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

Comparisons between Tiger players is not fair, Maurice and Knightsey were of two differing styles but both were pure class and inspiring players.

In saying that, Maurice to me stands right at the top as one of the best players I have ever had the pleasure to watch.

Thank you god for making him a Tiger.

 

[Mr Pumblechook]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

He was certainly my favourite during his time at Tigerland. I was in high school at the time and proudly wore the "Maurice 17 Rioli" on the back of my jacket.

More than any other player I can recall, he made it look like everyone else was in slow motion. Not because of his pace, but the poise with which he weaved through packs of players made them look like statues.

[and of course there was the rumour going around about him beating up Jacko :hihi]

Wasn't he a golden gloves prior to playing football?

 

[blx]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

i followed South Freo back in the seventies/eighties and maurice was a gem to watch but at South Freo he was always overshadowed by one, Stephen Michael. I know this is a Maurice thread but believe me, if you think Rioli was good you aint seen nothin cause Stephen Michael was GOD. He declined many offers to come to the VFL and is often refered to as the best player not to play VFL footy. He even ended up captaining the 1983 All Australian side, the only non VFL/AFL player to do so.

Go ahead google away

 

[LeeToRainesToRoach]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

with all due respect to matty knights, he would'nt of got anywhere near the great maurice.

Big call. I think a lot of people underestimate just how good Knights was. He was our standout player during a sustained period of team failure (which is still going :duh). Maurice was an extremely special player, but no more so than Knighter.

Tend to agree Freezer.

Rioli was a rare player though, and (along with the Krakouers) is one of the reasons aboriginal players are expected by many to have that so-called 'touch of magic' about their play.

Can remember his first game at Waverley when our Round 2 match against Fitzroy was brought forward and was the sole game on the season's opening weekend. Superb day but Maurice shone brighter than the sun, and I later got a reluctant admission from a Hawk mate who came along that he'd seen something special in Rioli. Many other memorable games followed.

 

[damian]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

Maurice was a golden gloves.

 

[Leysy Days]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

leysys stumbled across a really good thread here.

Firstly, as good as Knighter was. In pure class Rioli was a class above ILO.

Whenever leysy happens to see footage of the tiges in the 80's & old Sth Freo footage the quality of Rioli's play is breathtaking.

On the Stephen Michael thing. from leysys time & experience in the west he's gotta back the bollox up.
The esteem that Michael is held in from anyone that followed WA footy in that time, (when quality & crowds rivalled VFL) is phenominal. The Wiley's, Rioli's, Krakouers, Cables etc arent mentioned in the same breath from WAFL supporters of that era.

Apparently he had some soldier hangin between aggards that had to be seen to be believed as well :whistle

 

[Tigers of Old]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

Article on the RFC website this week on Mr Magic.

The Melville Island Magician

By Tony Greenberg
11:51 AM Fri 21 May, 2010

In the lead-up to the 2010 “Dreamtime at the G” clash between Richmond and Essendon, we pay tribute to Maurice Rioli, the greatest indigenous player in Tigerland history . . .

Maurice Rioli had a mighty impact in just six seasons of VFL football with Richmond.

The Tigers won a hotly-contested race to snare the prized signature of Rioli, who had been a star with WA club South Fremantle, after making the trek to Perth from his Melville Island home.

Rioli would go on to play 118 games for Richmond from 1982-87 and kick 80 goals. He won the Club’s prestigious Jack Dyer Medal (Best and Fairest award) in his first two years at Punt Road (1982-83), collected the Norm Smith Medal for being best afield in the Tigers’ 1982 Grand Final loss to Carlton (the first player in a losing side to do so), and finished runner-up in the 1983 Brownlow Medal.

Former Richmond champion rover and current Club Relationship Manager, Dale Weightman, a teammate of Rioli’s throughout the 1980s, was glowing in his praise of the “Melville Island Magician”. . .

“I still remember the first time that I saw Maurice in action for us . . . It was a practice match against Carlton at Swan Hill early in ’82, and I reckon it was about 50 degrees Celsius - gee, it was hot! Maurice just showed then that, bloody hell, he was going to be a good player for us,” Weightman said.

“None of the Carlton blokes could touch him - he just weaved through them all. Then, when they got it, he just pounced on them . . . He was one of the best tacklers of all time. A few times during his career here, we actually got him to teach us how to tackle properly.

“He said you had to ‘draw’ from the hips - like the cowboys in the western movies. You don’t put your arms up high to tackle an opponent - you just draw from the hips and wrap them up that way - something he did so well.

“Maurice’s all-round football skills were magnificent. He just did things that you marvelled at - and no-one could lay a hand on him. That’s what amazed me the first time I saw him play. He was dodging and weaving . . . they’d be coming at him and he’d be going this way, that way.

“Maurice was so good in heavy traffic out on the field. It was just boom, boom, boom and next second he’d be gone, and opponents would be left floundering . . .

“So many times I saw blokes who thought they had him covered, and he’d just slide around them sideways and then slot the ball down the throat of one of our forwards. It was just brilliant to watch . . .”

Weightman rates Rioli as one of the best players that he not only played with - but one of the best he’s ever seen.

“He was just a magic player. He was always in the game, too, which is a big thing for the team.

“You always knew when Maurice was around the ball that you had a chance, whether it was a one-on-one situation, one-on-two, one-on-three, even one-on-four . . . As long as Maurice was the one, you always had a chance because he just had that ability to be able to beat opponents.”

An extract from the 1983 Richmond Football Club Annual Report, had this to say about Rioli’s exciting arrival on the league scene:

“No other player entering VFL ranks over the past couple of years has captured the imagination of football supporters more so than Maurice Rioli. Maurice epitomizes a great VFL player, courageous, skilled and dedicated to winning. The winner of the club Best and Fairest award in 1982, Maurice capped off a magnificent season again winning the Best and Fairest award and finishing runner-up in the coveted Brownlow Medal . . .”

 

[michael roach]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

I worshipped him as a kid,i was in Primary School and had his number 17 on my Jumper.

I remember wanting to blow Geoffrey Edelsten up(or something bad like that :hihi) when he tried to lure Maurice to Sydney.

God i loved the way he moved with the ball and wheeled onto that left foot,he was smooth as silk.

 

[Streak]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

I remember wanting to blow Geoffrey Edelsten up(or something bad like that :hihi) when he tried to lure Maurice to Sydney.

He actually managed to for a brief moment didn't he, then the VFL stepped in. Can't remember the details now.

 

[geoffryprettyboy]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

I was privileged to see Maurice play, a champion indeed.

 

[Tigers of Old]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

I worshipped him

That's exactly how I was with Rioli. Pretty Boy Raines was my idol then Maurice knocked him off the perch.
To this day my favourite ever Tiger.

 

[hopper]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

As I grew up and started to appreciate the game, Rioli was a standout. I was spellbound by him, and just couldn't understand how he was able to do what he did. Almost seemed inhuman to a clod like me! I put his number on my duffle coat - and still reckon he's well inside the best 3 Tigers I have seen play. Mr Magic indeed!

 

[tigertim]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

Loved watching Maurce play but it was a pity that his "golden era" only really lasted2 seasons 82/83. He was good in 84/85 but was average ( like the rest of the team!) in 86/87.

 

[Punxsutawney Phil]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

I had the number 17 on my duffle coat, and had to change it to 27 after the aborted transfer to Sydney.

I remember as part of my membership then (I was only young) you used to get your favorite player from the club to send you a birthday card. Mine was from Maurice.

Was pure class. When you think back to some of the players we had in our team back in the mid 1980s, you wonder just how we could have been so poor.

 

[Hayfever]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

He was Magic all right. The thing that impressed me most about him was his balance. No doubt his early boxing training would have helped him develop this component of his skillset. He kind of ran up on his toes, so that he could dart and weave with ease. Cyril Rioli has this as well. They are panther-like.

Only other players with this type of grace and balance I've seen are Andrew McLeod(although his running style is more of a lope) and Israel Folau....... for a big guy he has unbelievable balance.

 

[LeeToRainesToRoach]

Re: Just how good was Maurice Rioli?

Favourite Rioli memory is v Collingwood in front of a big crowd at the MCG. Rioli was surrounded by opponents before dodging, baulking, ducking and finally weaving between the legs of a Magpie opponent, still in possession of the ball, before regaining his feet and delivering it downfield. The whole crowd - even Collingwood supporters - gasped, such was the genius on display.