Maurice Rioli Jr.

AFL recruitment In September 2020, Rioli was one of 96 players invited to the AFL Draft Combine. Around this time he confirmed years of informal commitment, nominating for selection to Richmond under the father–son rule.

Prior to the draft, Rioli was forecast to land with Richmond at pick 47 and 52 by Fox Footy and ESPN in their respective phantom drafts. He was noted for his tackling ability, goal-sense and sprint speed.

He first represented Richmond as part of the club's reserves side, featuring in VFL pre-season matches from February through April when the season officially began. Rioli impressed over that time, first earning a place as a non-playing emergency in the club's round 5 AFL match against . Though he went unselected in the final team, he was a stand-out performer at reserves level, kicking two goals and recording 17 disposals in the opening round of the VFL season that same weekend. He was an AFL emergency regularly over the month that followed, while continuing to play VFL football as a small forward with occasional stints in the midfield. In May, Richmond senior coach Damien Hardwick labelled Rioli close to AFL selection, but said he would require a stronger endurance base before he could be named for a debut. Through the first week of July, he ranked second among midfield-forwards in the VFL with 5.8 tackles per game and was in contention for the league's goal of the year award with a 90-metre sprint goal against the Northern Bullants. Following an eight-tackle game against Frankston in early August, Rioli was elevated to senior level and named to make his AFL debut in a round 21 match against .

Player profile Rioli plays primarily as a defensive small forward and is notable for his ability to apply forward-half pressure and create turnovers among opposition defenders.

Statistics Updated to the end of the 2025 season. 2021

49 31 22 247 141 388 91 134 0.6 0.5 5.0 2.9 7.9 1.9 2.7

Personal life He is the sixth in the Rioli family to play in the AFL, following his father Maurice, cousin Dean, cousin Cyril, nephew Daniel and cousin Willie.