Unlikely housemates to begin with, but now nearly three years under the same roof, Richmond senior coach Damien Hardwick and livewire small forward Daniel Rioli share a bond like family.
Hailing from the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory, Rioli started living with the Hardwick family after being drafted to the Tigers in 2015.
Rioli’s willingness to share stories from life on the Tiwi Islands has brought the pair closer together, and also connected Hardwick to the unique culture and traditions of Indigenous people.
“Our relationship is probably different to a coach-player relationship so to speak, I look at him as part of our family,” Hardwick said.
“The thing that probably struck me from the outset was how important family was to Daniel, then the stories that came from that were really quite amazing.”
“The stories that go from generation to generation, and the significance of spirituality with animals and totems.”
Rioli shared a special story from Tiwi about a turtle wandering into town at the start of last year’s AFL finals series.
Aware that the turtle is Rioli’s totem, the community elders believed it was a sign and decided to take care of the turtle throughout the finals series.
After each win towards Richmond’s drought-breaking premiership, Rioli would get word from home that the turtle was still in his home town and being cared for.
“And then we had one more game left and it was the grand final, and we ended up making it all the way, and they ended up releasing the turtle back into the ocean,” Rioli said.
“Those sort of stories I just found amazing, and that’s what I gained from my relationship with Daniel and having a young Indigenous man in our house,” Hardwick said.
Always willing to share his culture and life, Rioli has also hosted a small group of his teammates on the Tiwi Islands during the Tigers bye week last year.
“The boys loved it, they know a bit about me now, and how I lived, and where I come from,” he said.
“It (Tiwi) means so much to me and my family, I always get goosebumps talking about it.”
Reflecting on his own upbringing, Hardwick also believes that where he lived in Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges has shaped the person he is now.
"I consistently talk about my home in Upwey and what that meant to me, and how much of my upbringing was around that area and how much I learnt about life around there,” Hardwick said.
“It’s what makes us, us.”
Richmond is partnered with Culture is Life, a foundation partner of Richmond Football Club’s Korin Gamadji Institute.
Culture is Life supports Aboriginal led programs that wrap culture as a protective factor around young people and campaigns to encourage all Australians to deepen their connection with the world’s oldest living culture.
To mark National Reconciliation Week 2018 and the AFL’s Sir Doug Nicholls Round, Culture is Life launched ‘Untap Your History’ campaign May 27 - July 15 2018.
Through the release of the campaign, in collaboration with Richmond Football, Culture is Life invites all Australians to take part in the online social media campaign by sharing a photo with an item of significance that reawakens our memories, and connects us to our family stories and to each other by sharing on socials and tagging @cultureislife #untapyourhistory #cultureislife #NRW2018.
