Cyril Rioli

Cyril Rioli is a retired player most recently playing for Hawthorn.

Cyril Rioli (born 14 July 1989) is a professional Australian rules footballer currently playing with Hawthorn in the Australian Football League (AFL). Primarily a small forward, Rioli also spends time in the midfield.

Born to a bloodline of acclaimed professional footballers, which includes uncles Michael Long and Maurice Rioli, the first eight years of Rioli's life were spent in the Tiwi Islands. He moved to Darwin and began playing for the St Marys Football Club. When Rioli was 14, he moved to Melbourne to pursue a career in the AFL— boarding at and playing for Scotch College. Rioli emerged as a standout performer in the 2007 AFL national under 18 championships, earning himself selection in the U/18 All-Australian team. On the back of this success, Rioli was selected at pick number 12 in the 2007 AFL Draft by the Hawthorn Hawks.

Rioli made his AFL debut in Hawthorn's defeat of the Melbourne Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in round one 2008. He built a reputation around his ability to chase and pressure the opposition as they attempted to rebound from the forward line. In round six, he was nominated for the AFL Rising Star Award, after his display against Richmond, in which he received a nomination for Goal of the Year. Rioli appeared in every game in his debut season, including an inspirational performance in Hawthorn's defeat of Geelong in the 2008 AFL Grand Final. He was rewarded for his impressive debut season with a sixth place finish in Hawthorn's Peter Crimmins Medal (Best and fairest award) and second overall in the AFL Rising Star Award.

Rioli's second season was not as decorated as his first, with Hawthorn missing out on the finals after suffering a "premiership hangover". He spent more time in the midfield, and was struck down with injury, missing three games. Upon the end of a disappointing season, Rioli announced that he would like to help bring more Indigenous players down to be drafted from the Northern Territory and also offered his support to an incentive aimed at teaching Indigenous people in remote areas about the damage drugs and alcohol can do to the brain.

Born to Cyril Jr. and Kathy in 1989, Rioli was introduced into a bloodline of talented footballers. His grandfather Cyril Sr. fathered Cyril Jr., who was a champion footballer in the Northern Territory and his brother, Richmond Norm Smith Medallist Maurice Rioli. Cyril Jr. played for Northern Territory Football League club St Marys, where he won 12 premiership medallions and the 1995–96 Nichols Medal as the league's best and fairest player. His mother Kathy is two-time premiership player and 1993 Norm Smith Medallist Michael Long's sister. Rioli has a sister named Kalisha and another former footballer, Dean Rioli, is his cousin. He spent the first eight years of his life in the Tiwi Islands before moving with his family to Darwin in the Northern Territory, playing his younger years at St Marys also.