He kicked the clutch goal regardless of the result. Massive for his confidence nonetheless.
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Maurice Rioli Jnr
- Thread starter Tigertool
- Start date
I underestimated Maurice. I didnt think he had the stamina or enough of what was needed.
I was wrong.
He has been good this year, still needs to learn. But he is 'all in' and looks like a hard worker, no slacking off.
There is an upside in his game for sure.
Last year he probably wouldn’t have made the distance with that last shot for goal.
He held onto a couple of overhead marks too that previously he'd likely have fumbled.
We need to avoid rushing things - but there’s a lot to look forward to.
Morro has told us point blank that Maurice was in the Magoos to work on his creativity with the ball.
We were forced to play him against Geelong because no Cotchin, Lambert.
Young Maurice was a bit jittery with the ball when he was demoted. But. It was reasonable and smart to send him back to learn longer use. Not 50m bomb kicks, but 15m hbs and 40m low kicks. Ideally he would've done a little bit more of that at Magoos level. But our young star thought he'd try for that improvement at AFL level against the second favourite for the flag.
Daniel was asked recently who was the quickest player at the club. He said his young uncle was. I've benchmarked against Bews with other players. (Bews is quick.) Young Maurice teleported onto him.
MoJu was relentless. He was unpredictable in movement yet astute with the ball. He teleported.
He was *smile* awesome.
We were forced to play him against Geelong because no Cotchin, Lambert.
Young Maurice was a bit jittery with the ball when he was demoted. But. It was reasonable and smart to send him back to learn longer use. Not 50m bomb kicks, but 15m hbs and 40m low kicks. Ideally he would've done a little bit more of that at Magoos level. But our young star thought he'd try for that improvement at AFL level against the second favourite for the flag.
Daniel was asked recently who was the quickest player at the club. He said his young uncle was. I've benchmarked against Bews with other players. (Bews is quick.) Young Maurice teleported onto him.
MoJu was relentless. He was unpredictable in movement yet astute with the ball. He teleported.
He was *smile* awesome.
Just occasionally he reminds me of his father, if it becomes more than occasionally it will be stunning.
He is not the same player as his father, obviously, but the way he doesn't look that fast but is, and he certainly is hard at the ball and relentless. So glad we picked him up.
DS
FWIW, classic Dimma unleashes Maurice a bit later in the season. But Maurice is pretty keen to play now. Funny that. Upstart Maurice Rioli jr would like to contribute at AFL level right now.
We've heard him speak. We've seen him play. Not enough ego atm? He's working on that.
We've heard him speak. We've seen him play. Not enough ego atm? He's working on that.
I've never seen one Rioli that resembled another, DSSS. But, just once in a while MoJu does give us a Maurice sr moment. (That'd be a pretty good moment, wouldn't it? ;D)
That said, he is his own man. Much more explosive than Daddy.
Morro told us what the club wants from him - creative use. Nobody said more tackles. Nobody said fewer mistakes.
If Maurice *smile* up 17 times BALL IN HAND next week he is on the right path. Prolific risk taking.
The body shape has changed remarkably as well. A ball of muscle. Meatball MK2.
Regardless of where they start from, good players tend to develop and improve rapidly once in the AFL system and Rioli Jnr in no exception. He’s gone from struggling to find the ball half a dozen times at VFL level in his first season to patches of sheer dominance (see Coburg game two weeks ago) 18 months later. Consistency is still an issue at AFL level but that is improving and when he’s on, he is a serious weapon in our forward line.
All the signs are pointing to a seriously good player here.
All the signs are pointing to a seriously good player here.
His father was a Gentleman Jack. A velvet sledgehammer who spoke softly and carried a big stick.
MJ is cut similarly that's for sure. We all should be excited about his development..
I think we are close to our best 22 sans the guys who are out injured, and Mj is part of that 22. His defensive efforts, especially the running chases where he is a long way behind but keeps on going and puts enough pressure on the ball carrier to force a sloppy kick are so good and he has been delivering these in the past few weeks. His fitness levels must be quite good now to be able to do that especially in the last qtrs.
Absolutely love his pressure up forward on the oppo defenders. Very much like his nephew's best in 2017.
