The move of triple Richmond premiership small forward Daniel Rioli to a rebounding half-back role must rank as one of the best on-field positional changes for a player in Tigerland’s history.
Rioli, who reaches the AFL 150-game milestone in Saturday night’s match against Fremantle at Optus Stadium, has flourished since the switch from the forward line to the backline for the last seven games of the 2021 season.
He averaged 19.7 disposals per match in those seven games and looked like he’d been playing as a small defender for his entire football career.
Last year, Rioli averaged 20.5 disposals per game, still managed to kick 10 goals, and finished second in Richmond’s Best and Fairest award.
This season, the talented 26-year-old has taken his game to an even higher level, averaging an AFL career-high 23.0 disposals, career-high 6.1 contested possessions, career-high 4.2 rebound-50s, career-high 5.8 intercepts and career-high 449.9 metres gained.
He generates plenty of drive for the Tigers team through his run-and-carry, but also keeps opponents in check with tight defence.
Across the competition, he is rated right up there among the top rebounding defenders.
Mind you, Rioli was no slouch as a small forward, either.
Richmond’s first pick (No. 15 overall) in the 2015 national draft, Rioli, who had played junior football with Northern Territory club St Mary’s and then North Ballarat Rebels at under-18 level in Victoria, made his AFL debut in the opening round of the 2016 season against Carlton.
Rioli showed plenty of promise with 13 goals from 18 senior appearances in his inaugural season at the game’s highest level and was rewarded with the Cosgrove-Jenkins Award as the Tigers’ best first year player.
The following season, when Richmond broke its 37-year premiership drought, Rioli was a valuable contributor up forward, kicking 25 goals and constantly turning the heat up on opposition defenders with his frenetic pressure.
He then booted 13 goals in 2018, 17 in 2019, 12 in the Covid-shortened 2020 season and had nine in 2021 before his brilliant, career-changing move to the backline.
Richmond great Matthew Richardson paid tribute to Rioli on this week’s episode of the Club’s Talking Tigers podcast . . .
“It’s the hardest position on the ground, I think, playing small forward. You’re feeding off crumbs down there. He was able to do it in big games. Kicked four (goals) in a prelim (2017 preliminary final v GWS) to really keep us in that game,” Richardson said.
“So, he had the ability to be a goal-a-game small forward. But I think he’s found his niche now, which is surprising that you would say that after three premierships as a small forward.
“He is now the player that every team needs . . . someone at half-back who can win the ball back, which he can do, but then get on your bike and get two and three possessions in a chain and take the ball from defence to offense in a quick way.
“I think Daniel’s doing that as well as any player in the competition at the moment off half-back. He gets involved in chains, gets forward and scores, which you need from a half-back, and he’s a good inside-50 kick as well.
“He’s showing his skill set and has just been a tremendous player . . . a really important player in the way the game’s played now.”
