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Sport Nation
Repeat offender: Dale message not the first time Rioli has threatened opponent
SEN • May 6th, 2025 12:39 pm
Port Adelaide’s Willie Rioli has been in the headlines over the last 24 hours after reportedly threatening Western Bulldogs defender Bailey Dale.
Rioli’s threat to Dale came as a threatening message following the Round 8 clash between the Power and Dogs where the pair matched up on each other and were involved in a scuffle.
According to SEN’s Tom Morris, Rioli sent a message to one of Dale’s teammates with words to the effect of, ‘I have lots of friends in NT, he should be careful about leaving the hotel in Darwin next week’.
Morris is now reporting that it’s not the first time Rioli has threatened an opposition player, with the Power forward allegedly giving a similar verbal threat while on-field earlier this season.
“Rioli sent a threatening message to a Western Bulldogs player, about Bailey Dale, the next day after the game,” Morris said on SEN Breakfast.
“But the other wrinkle is this, Rioli is allegedly - and I use the word allegedly, very deliberately here - a repeat offender when it comes to threatening players from opposition teams.
“Earlier in the year, he played a game in which he told (an opponent) direct words to the effect of, ‘Be careful, my friends will come for you’. This was on the field.
“Is this harmless back and forth on the field, or should the AFL deal with this sort of threat that he did via social media and that he has done on the field in the past more harshly?”
Given that Rioli went unpunished for his actions by the AFL, Garry Lyon and Tim Watson couldn’t wrap their heads around the league’s decision.
