Maurice Rioli Jr does not hunt his prey on open bushland anymore. These days the Richmond forward tracks opposition players across suburban ovals, launching himself at unsuspecting targets with a speed and ferocity that has made him one of the AFL's most distinctive tacklers.
Yet the foundation for those acrobatic, often devastating chase-down tackles was laid on the Tiwi Islands, where he grew up in Pirlangimpi on Melville Island and spent his childhood pursuing far more dangerous quarry. The Tiwi people hunt for wallaby, lizards, possums, carpet snakes, pig, buffalo, flying foxes, bandicoot, turtle and seagull eggs and magpie geese, and Rioli's family were no exception.
"It's just instinct," Rioli explained in an interview about his tackling approach. "Growing up on the Tiwi Islands, going out hunting, chasing possum or whatever it is, wallabies... it was just instinct growing up, chasing food back home, just hunting." He recalled the danger inherent in that pursuit. "It was scary chasing a buffalo. We were after the calf... if it's a mother or it's a father with its big horns, it would turn around and chase you."
Those hunting expeditions built something more than muscle memory. They forged a reflexive understanding of pursuit, timing, and the decisive moment when prey becomes cornered. 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. At the AFL level, that translates into a relentless forward-line presence that opponents struggle to evade.
His 2025 season showcased this skill. Rioli recorded ten chase-down tackles, earning recognition for some of the year's most memorable individual moments. The standout was a desperate dive to catch opponent Brady Hough, which ultimately resulted in a Tigers goal against West Coast. He launched the tackle from twenty metres behind an unsuspecting Hough who had possession at the centre square. Former Eagle Chris Waterman called it "the chase of the decade" on ABC radio.
Richmond coach Adem Yze sees the same instinctive aggression across all Rioli's defensive work. "He's not sneaking up; he's coming at high speed," Yze said this week. The coach also noted that Rioli's off-ball running and pressure acts, though less visible than his dramatic tackles, form the real backbone of his contribution.
Rioli's journey to this point has not been straightforward. He relocated to Melbourne at sixteen to board at Scotch College and pursue elite football pathways. He was drafted by Richmond with the club's second pick and the 51st selection overall in the 2020 AFL national draft, joining the Tigers as a father-son prospect following the legacy of his late father Maurice Rioli, a Norm Smith medallist in 1982.
The Rioli name carries weight at Richmond and across the AFL. His cousin Cyril Rioli won two Norm Smith medals as a small forward with Hawthorn, setting a standard that Rioli Jr acknowledges but does not appear to be intimidated by. His pressing question now concerns consistency and durability. Rioli was ranked second on the Tigers for tackles inside 50, with 1.15 per game, but he needs to sustain that output across full seasons and prove he can run out games at full intensity.
The hunting instinct that defined his childhood remains his signature. Whether it translates into the kind of career his family name suggests is the story now unfolding at Punt Road.