Willie Rioli takes leave following racial abuse for Hawks post as Sam Mitchell speaks

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following article contains the name of a deceased person.

Port Adelaide forward Willie Rioli has taken personal leave from the club following racist and homophobic abuse after he professed his Hawthorn “hatred” in a now deleted social media post in the aftermath of Sunday night’s Gather Round clash.

Rioli was away from Alberton on Tuesday, a day the club has its game review and recovery work, with training scheduled for Wednesday and a full session on Thursday.

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The 29-year old is expected to return to Port Adelaide ahead of Sunday’s SCG meeting with Sydney, but the club will give him as much time as he needs.

The AFL Players Association came to Rioli’s defence after his post was met with online abuse.

“The racist and homophobic comments sent to Willie on his social media accounts are beyond unacceptable,“ AFLPA boss Paul Marsh said.

“For what feels like the 1000th time, we ask these so-called football supporters to stop racially abusing the players.”

The Power had full support of Rioli and said his welfare was their priority, but acknowledged in a statement “social media was not the appropriate forum for Willie to share his emotions”.

It came after Rioli late in the fourth term of the Power’s 30-point win over Hawthorn ran into an open goal before showing Changkuoth Jiath the ball. It caused Jiath to shove Rioli afterwards and give away a free kick as tempers flared, leading to another Rioli goal.

Rioli re-posed a video of his cheeky act in the now deleted Instagram story with the caption: “Play with fire, you’re gonna get burnt. My hatred for this club goes way pass last year antics, what they did to my dad, and my brother, is why I can’t stand them. Not the players. #Cococlub.”

Rioli’s late father Willie Snr, who died in 2022, was on Hawthorn’s playing list in the 1991 season but didn’t play a game. Rioli’s cousin, Cyril, was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against Hawthorn that was settled last year.

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell sad he hoped to sit down with Willie Rioli in a private setting at some stage.

“I’ve had a relationship with Willie for a long period of time. We obviously worked together in the west, and we’ve been in regular contact since then, and I hope that we can have a conversation about this at a more appropriate time, and if we do that will remain private,” Mitchell told Nine’s Footy Classified.

“If I was to get in contact with him, I don’t think here would be the place I would say so. That’s something I would do privately.”

On Monday evening, the Power released a statement on the incident.

“Willie Rioli and his family continue to carry deep-seated pain and sadness from past family experiences,” a Power spokesperson said.

“Despite the depth of feeling Willie and his family have, social media was not the appropriate forum for Willie to share his emotions last night. Willie understands this.

“Willie’s welfare remains our priority and the club will continue to provide support for Willie and his family through this time.”

Rioli has also posted on social media showing the racist abuse he has received since posting about the Hawks, sarcastically captioning it “dubs in the chat”.