Hawthorn didn’t know Cyril Rioli was going to be watching his former side at TIO Stadium on Thursday night until they saw the TV footage.
While he may’ve been keeping an eye on his former team, he was actually there as a guest of their opponents on the night – the Suns.
Cyril Rioli caught up with former captain Luke Hodge in Darwin on Thursday night.Credit: Seven Network
As the Seven cameras followed his movements after the siren, they caught a special moment between Rioli and his former premiership captain turned commentator Luke Hodge.
It’s unclear exactly what they were discussing at that moment. Perhaps the premierships, maybe their Norm Smith Medals. They could have simply mentioned how brilliantly both teams played – putting on a show for the 12,000-strong crowd in the Top End.
Gold Coast Suns chief executive Mark Evans.Credit: Getty Images
But it was the man in the background of that shot that orchestrated it all.
“It was just great to have Cyril back at the footy,” Mark Evans, the Suns chief executive and former long-term football boss at the Hawks, told this masthead.
Evans has attempted to maintain a relationship with Rioli since becoming boss of the Suns at the start of 2017 – 12 months before Rioli announced his shock retirement from football.
“I think there’s now a bit of a pattern of reconnection to the game, so that’s good,” Evans said.
He was at Waverley when Rioli was drafted in 2007 and was given a front-row seat to the Cyril show for the best part of a decade.
Rioli (centre) watched on at TIO Stadium in Darwin as the Suns took on the Hawks.Credit: AFL Photos
Rioli and his wife Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli, whose difficult relationship with Hawthorn has been well-documented, attended the Suns’ official function before the game and stayed to watch the match in its entirety. His cousin, Daniel, the three-time premiership-winning former Tiger, was playing his second game in Darwin for the Suns.
The pre-match function at TIO Stadium was a little different to one, say, at the MCG. There wasn’t a formal, sit-down dinner and speeches were kept to a minimum.
“It was more like a garden party,” Evans said.
And while many will hope it was a “welcome back to football” party for the former superstar, neither Hawthorn nor Evans were willing to go that far.
Evans was at Hawthorn during the seasons in which Rioli and other players alleged they were racially discriminated against. Neither Rioli nor his wife have ever suggested Evans treated them poorly.
“We’ve maintained contact, but it’s been a bit more limited, yes,” Evans admitted.
Hawthorn settled their Federal Court case with Indigenous former players and their families in November last year, apologising for their experiences at the club, and reaching a financial settlement. After two days of mediation, the club settled with the Riolis, Jermaine Miller-Lewis, Montanah-Rae Lewis, Carl Peterson and Leon Egan.
Rioli has always shied away from the limelight. He was a magician on the field, bewildering so many opponents over his glittering 189-game career. And he often saved his best work for the biggest games – he played in 19 finals, five of them grand finals.
But off the field, he has kept a largely low profile.
“I will say, [he] seemed pretty relaxed here last night,” Evans said.
“Maybe at the start was just a little bit different, but by the end of he seemed pretty relaxed to be there, which is great. We managed to do a little bit of work with him in the early partnership we had with AFL NT, and he was doing a bit of training with some of the academy kids when we had that connection to their programs.
“He didn’t want to shuffle forward and, you know, be right up front in the function. So we just let him choose his own spot.”
Hodge has been contacted for comment. This masthead also attempted to contact Cyril Rioli.
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