Rioli reveals depth of guilt over AFL drug test saga

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this story makes references to a person who has died.

Willie Rioli has opened up on the emotional trauma and guilt he has experienced since serving his drug-related ban from the AFL.

The 29-year-old, who currently plays for Port Adelaide, was handed a back-dated two-year suspension in March 2021 for tampering with a drug sample. He was playing for the West Coast Eagles at the time of the ban.

Rioli publicly admitted that he smoked marijuana with others from the club the night before he was tested, and it was for this reason he’d attempted to swap his urine with a clean sample via a Gatorade bottle.

A month after his ban was lifted, Rioli was arrested at Darwin airport and subsequently charged after a sniffer dog indicated he was carrying an illicit substance. Police discovered 25 grams of cannabis in his pants.

Rioli pleaded guilty and was handed a 12-month good behaviour bond.

He returned to the West Coast Eagles before requesting a trade to Port Adelaide in 2022.

Reflecting on the tumultuous period of his life, Rioli wrote an extended post on his Instagram page lifting the lid on the burden he has carried in recent years.

“I don’t shy from my passed (sic),” he wrote under a video montage of Andrew Dillon, Adam Simpson, his teammates, family and children.

“I do blame myself everyday and have sleepless nights for hurting my teammates, the club, the ones I love and who were there for me along my journey.

“I know I hurt so many people during my situation and darkest time, it took me a while to accept my faith, I believe now everything happens for a reason, the good and the bad, but regardless of the situation, I learnt not to dwell on the passed (sic) and on the things out of my control any more.

“Sometimes the hardest lessons on our road to recovery or success are the ones that shape us into better human being. It makes us surround ourselves around the right people who love you regardless.

“I lost family and friends, teammates who were close, but at the end of the day, I can’t fix everything that’s been broken or lost, I learnt life is to (sic) short to fix everything but it’s how you develop an (sic) learn from your mistake that helps you become a person an (sic) character.”

A year after the drug sagas, the 2018 premiership player suffered the heartbreaking loss of his father who was a prominent figure in footy circles, particularly for WAFL club South Fremantle.

In October of the same year Rioli requested a trade and left the Eagles for Port with a view to playing in 2023 in order to re-locate to the Top End for 12 months to honour Tiwi mourning customs.

In 2023, a year after his father’s death, Rioli returned to Adelaide under his new name Willie Rioli (previously Willie Rioli Jnr and Junior Rioli).

Paying tribute to his father in his Instagram post, Rioli revealed the final words of wisdom he shared.

“The last thing my old man said was ‘son don’t let football or this situation define you,” he wrote. “Be true to yourself, no matter status, income and football results.

“Define how you grew from your mistakes an (sic) most of all how you treat people in the moments is what will change people’s perspective of you, live for the moment son.

“I cherish the time I was away from the game because it gave me the chance to appreciate my home (Tiwi) an (sic) my people and also the people that have it a lot harder than I do. It helped me mentally look at life in a better perspective knowing life can take us at any given time.”