Port Adelaide footy star Willie Rioli reveals his family is behind his hatred for rival
Port Adelaide star Willie Rioli has sparked controversy with a scathing Instagram post targeting Hawthorn, following a spiteful Gather Round clash at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
The Power secured a commanding 30-point win over the high-flying Hawks, with Rioli playing a pivotal role.
The energetic 29-year-old ran into an open goal late in the fourth quarter and taunted Changkuoth Jiath with the ball before kicking the match-winner.
Jiath responded by shoving the small forward to the ground, which caused a melee. Rioli was awarded a free kick and slotted home the easiest of goals to seal the victory.
Hours later, Riloi took to social media to voice his personal hatred of Hawthorn.
‘Play with fire, you’re gonna get burnt,’ he said via his Instagram story.
Port Adelaide star Willie Rioli has targeted Hawthorn with a scathing Instagram post
Rioli explained exactly why he hated the Hawks in a now-deleted post
‘My hatred for this club goes way pass (sic) last year’s antics. What they did to my dad and my brother is why I can’t stand them. Not the players.’
Rioli’s late dad, Willie Snr, was drafted by Hawthorn in 1990 but never actually played a senior match for the club.
His cousin Cyril – a four-time premiership hero at Hawthorn – was at the centre of a lawsuit against the club which was settled in November.
Rioli Jr’s comment, which has since been deleted, is the latest installment of the ongoing rivalry between the Hawks and Port Adelaide.
Power coach Ken Hinkley fanned the rivalry flames last May in celebrating the Power’s greatest escape, when Darcy Byrne-Jones soccered the winning goal with two seconds remaining.
The fire escaped containment lines after their semi-final in Adelaide when the Power pipped the Hawks by three points.
Hinkley taunted Hawthorn players post-game and was fined $20,000 by the AFL – a sanction which still has the Power privately fuming.
The AFL grabbed the grudge and made it the Sunday night finale to another wildly successful Gather Round in Adelaide and surrounds.
Rioli’s late dad Willie Snr was drafted by Hawthorn in 1990 but never actually played a senior match, while his cousin Cyril was at the centre of a lawsuit against the club
Rioli Jr’s post is the latest installment of the ongoing rivalry between the Hawks and the Power
‘No matter who we were playing, we just needed to find a win,’ Hinkley said.
‘Rivalry in sport is great … sometimes we overplay it a little bit.’
And the on-field theatre began with a Port bang: six goals to one in the first quarter.
The Power’s dual All Australian Zak Butters – the AFL’s most fined player – sparked a small melee and the pro-Power crowd repeatedly jeered Hawks’ captain James Sicily, who was central to last year’s finals stoush with Hinkley.
With ex-Magpie Jack Richards slotting two goals and setting up Mitch Georgiades for another, Port were slick in their 6.3 to 1.2 opening.
But that proved a mere entree to Port’s main course: a match-defining second-term feast of six consecutive goals.
Power skipper Rozee, revelling in a new halfback role, twice drifted up-field to goal.
And his teammates Sam Powell-Pepper and Willem Drew scored with remarkable snaps in Port’s party which created a 71-point lead, 12.7 to 1.2.
The hapless Hawks mustered two late goals to reduce their deficit to 59 points at halftime and were 47 down at the last change.
‘The first half of that game was unacceptable and not the way we want to play,’ Hawks coach Sam Mitchell said.
‘We’re trying to work out why … we’re 4-1, we’re not in a terrible position in the year but it doesn’t feel like that right at this moment.’
Port, now with a 2-3 win-loss record, were brilliantly led by Butters and Rozee, who starred with a strong support cast featuring Jason Horne-Francis (29 possessions), Drew (26, one goal) and Ollie Wines (26).
And the Power attack fully exploited their plentiful supply, with Georgiades (three goals), Rioli (three), Powell-Pepper (two) Rozee, Richards and Jackson Mead (two goals) multiple scorers.
Hawk midfielder Jai Newcombe (29 disposals, one goal) and skipper Sicily battled against the flow, while veteran Jack Gunston kicked six goals and ruckman Lloyd Meek scored two.