‘Blindsided’ AFL left ‘livid’, re-opens Rioli probe as two clubs confirm alleged ‘violent threats’

The AFL is reconsidering whether to sanction Willie Rioli after being left blindsided by reports of two more alleged “violent threats” from the Port Adelaide forward to opponents, both last year and this year.

It comes as a leading commentator said he “cannot fathom” the AFL’s decision earlier this week not to sanction Rioli for threatening a Bulldogs opponent.

Rioli received a $1000 fine for striking Bailey Dale off the ball during the game against the Bulldogs on Saturday. But after the game he messaged a Bulldogs player allegedly warning Dale about ‘leaving the hotel’ when the Dogs travel to Darwin to play Gold Coast in Round 9.

FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.

The message reportedly featured words to the effect of “I have lots of friends in NT, he should be careful about leaving the hotel in Darwin next week”.

Rioli contacted Dale privately to apologise – which was accepted by Dale – with the Power on Monday night declaring “the matter has now been resolved privately”.

But veteran journalist Caroline Wilson on Tuesday night reported Rioli also issued a “violent threat” to a Geelong player during a game last year.

“I’m not sure how seriously it was taken, but it was heard by both sides … the player didn’t want to go on with it,” Wilson said on Seven.

She described it as “a pretty violent, bordering on horrific, threat”.

Both Seven and The Age, which also reported on the incident, chose not to name the Cats player out of respect for his privacy.

Later on Tuesday, Nine’s Tom Morris reported Rioli also threatened an Essendon player in Round 3 this year.

“It was in a way teammates of that player could not believe, and it was similarly threatening,” Morris said on Footy Classified.

Essendon coach Brad Scott, however, said his club had “zero issues” with Rioli amid the revelations, declaring: “What happens on the field, stays on the field.”

Scott conceded community expectations had changed as to what was allowable, and made it clear he expected his and all players to stay away from the sort of racial and homophobic slurs that have drawn heavy penalties and scorn in recent years.

The Cats on Wednesday released a statement regarding the incident from last year’s Geelong-Power clash in Round 9, stating: “The club can confirm the matter was not raised with the AFL. The club spoke directly with Port Adelaide after the match and considered the matter dealt with.”

SEN journalist Sam Edmund reported on Wednesday morning that the AFL had been left “blindsided” by the fresh claims against Rioli from past games and would seek more information during the day.

Edmund reported on X the AFL was “furious” upon learning of Rioli’s alleged past threats to opposition players via the media, rather than receiving formal complaints.

“A livid AFL will today re-examine the behaviour of Willie Rioli, with a sanction yet possible for the Port Adelaide forward,” Edmund wrote on X.

The Herald Sun reported that Rioli had been left “distressed by the situation”, with doubt now over his selection and availability for Saturday night’s Showdown against Adelaide.

Port Adelaide chairman said his club was “incredibly angry” with Rioli, but stressed the stream of “horrific” abuse he and other First Nations players consistently cop makes the forward’s situation complex.

“On-field in the heat of the battle is one thing,” Koch told FiveAA radio. “Off-field and on social media is totally different – and that’s why we’re really angry with Willie and what he did, and there’s absolutely no excusing that, don’t get me wrong on it.

“But we’ve got a duty of (care) to support the players and turn a bit of attention on what society is doing to these players.”

It comes after the AFL on Monday received criticism for not sanctioning Rioli specifically for the Dale incident from Saturday. Instead the league released a statement, which read: “The AFL has today spoken to both Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs and while confirming it will take no further action to that undertaken by the clubs and players, it has reminded both clubs to ensure any communications remain respectful”, the league statement read.

Failing to act, just as they did when Richmond brought Noah Balta back before his court sentencing for assault, left AFL 360 host Gerard Whateley baffled.

“I can’t quite fathom where the AFL has landed here, which is nowhere, and for the second time recently, they are in breach of community standards,” Whateley said on Fox Footy.

“The football public is unhappy to say the least … they have pulled up to punish Osama bin Laden masks at an off-season party and flipping the bird, which presumably is done for the likelihood to incite.

“They seem to have just completely missed the gravity of a player sending a message to a rival player’s teammate threatening (him) the day after a game, which I think, to the common man is going well, that’s not only in breach of footy standards, that’s borderline in breach of the law.

“So to walk straight past that with no comment? The only person on record saying Rioli has made a mistake is Luke Beveridge, not the AFL and not Port Adelaide.”

He added: “They made a mistake yesterday. I reckon they probably got lost in a whole lot of other things, and just missed the threatening message the day after a game. ‘No, no, we’re going to stamp that out and set a precedent’.

“And I think they just, they’re looking at all of this, and they missed this. It was a mistake yesterday, and it was a glaring mistake today.”

Melbourne great Garry Lyon added: “I don’t want to wish bad things to happen, but God I hope everything goes okay in Darwin.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said he was “not surprised” by the AFL’s decision not to sanction Rioli.

“Obviously Willie’s made a mistake, he’ll learn from it – and we’re all OK with that,” he said.

“I think the discretion there is important and I think that’s how both clubs are treating it. Let’s just learn from it, move on and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”