Maurice Rioli

Maurice Rioli
Rioli in 1982
Personal information
Full name	Maurice Joseph Rioli Tipakalippa
Date of birth	(1957-09-01)1 September 1957
Place of birth	Melville Island, Northern Territory
Date of death	25 December 2010(2010-12-25) (aged 53)
Place of death	Darwin, Northern Territory
Original team(s)	St Mary's (NTFL)
Height	176 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	85 kg (13 st 5 lb; 187 lb)
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1975–81, 1988–90	South Fremantle	163 (129)[1][2]
1982–87	Richmond	118 0 (80)
Total		281 (209)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
1978–88	Western Australia	14 (8)
1988	Northern Territory	3 (?)
Total		17
Coaching career3
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
1994	Indigenous All-Stars	(1–0–0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1990. 3 Coaching statistics correct as of 1994.
Career highlights
Club WAFL premiership: 1980 2x Richmond best and fairest: 1982–1983 Norm Smith Medal: 1982 2x Simpson Medal (for Grand Final): 1980–1981 VFL team of the year: 1983 Representative National Football Carnival Championship (Div 1): 1979 National Football Carnival Championship (Div 2): 1988 3x All-Australian team: 1983, 1986, 1988 Simpson Medal: 1983 Western Australia captain: 1987 Northern Territory captain: 1988
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Maurice Joseph Rioli Sr. (1 September 1957 – 25 December 2010)^[3] was an Australian rules footballer who represented St Mary's Football Club in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL), South Fremantle in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and Richmond in the Victorian Football League.

Acknowledged as one of the greatest players of his era, Rioli was one of the first Indigenous Australian footballers to have a significant impact on Victorian football, and was named in the centre for the Indigenous Team of the Century. A highly skilled and solidly built centreman with exquisite ball-handling skills and lightning reflexes, Rioli was a renowned performer on the big stage.^[4]

After retiring from football, Rioli became a politician in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, and then worked in community services on the Tiwi Islands.