Willie Rioli returned to Alberton on Monday and completed light duties, with Port Adelaide hopeful the goalkicking forward lines up against Geelong, who expect to have Tom Stewart back in the fold on Saturday.
Rioli missed the Power’s five-point loss to Adelaide on Saturday because of a retrospective one-game suspension for threatening rival players.
Port Adelaide hope to have Willie Rioli back in their team this week against Geelong.Credit: AFL Photos
He did not take part in the captain’s run last Friday, but has now returned to the club and took part in what a club spokesman said was light work on the training track.
“He’s back today. We expect him to be available this weekend,” the Power spokesman said.
Power coach Ken Hinkley mused after the loss to the cross-town rivals that Rioli “might have been handy tonight”.
“He’ll be fine. We’ll look after him, we’ll make some decisions and make sure he’s OK,” Hinkley said.
“Our major focus is to make sure Willie is OK … he has got our care, and he always will.”
Rioli had already made the call himself to miss the Showdown before the AFL imposed its suspension on him. He did not attend the game.
“He had the choice … I thought the right option for him was not to be here,” Hinkley said.
“He just needed some time, and I made sure he got that time. And we will move on and, hopefully, we can leave all this stuff behind us, and we can get on with playing footy.”
Power football boss Chris Davies detailed over the weekend the abuse Rioli has regularly endured on and off the field. This included comments about his weight, diet and alleged marijuana use that Davies believes has a racist undertone.
“Willie Rioli gets racially abused almost every day, when he does something good or bad in people’s eyes,” Davies said 3AW.
Hinkley last week said he doubted any rival players would verbally target Rioli, considering the fallout last week, when it emerged he’d sent a threatening text message to a Western Bulldogs player directed at Dogs’ defender Bailey Dale after they’d clashed on field the day before. After that came to light, allegations of Rioli threatening a Geelong opponent at GMHBA Stadium a year ago and an Essendon opponent earlier this season were ventilated.
Davies said reporting of Rioli’s issues were far more nuanced than a simple football story.
“I think firstly, it’s really important to say Willie has put his hand up and said that he wished he didn’t send the text message after the game,” Davies told 3AW.
“[And I am not] suggesting in the two instances highlighted [that] anything said was believed to be racist, but what you’ve highlighted [weight and drug abuse commentary] are two issues Willie has to deal with regularly.
“My question to you would be, if someone has been abused through their life as overweight and part of that conversation has included what they are eating as part of their cultural diet, would you expect that the next time that person is called overweight, that person, in some way, links that back to what they have received across their life.
“The marijuana use … would you consider ‘go and smoke drugs with your mates’, is that something that, when it has been prevalent in a community, it might have more significance for the person that is hearing it.”
Geelong playmaker Tom Stewart is pushing to play against the Power after an injury-interrupted start to his season.Credit: Getty Images
The Power have slipped to 13th spot on the ladder, with four wins and five losses, and now prepare to face a Cats’ unit stung by a home loss to Greater Western Sydney.
The Cats will also weigh up changes at selection.
Coach Chris Scott said Stewart (knee), the match-winning creative half-back, was in contention to play, having missed the past fortnight. Lawson Humphries (concussion) was also due back.
“According to him, he is a lock,” Scott said of Humphries.
Defender Jack Henry (hamstring) could also be in contention, although Scott pointed out that there was only a five-day break between the clash with the Power and the Cats’ next game with the Western Bulldogs at GMHBA Stadium.
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
