MauriceRioli

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  • YvonneH
    Senior Player
    • Sep 2011
    • 1141

    MauriceRioli

    I have just read in a book called 'Great Australian Football Stories' that Maurice Rioli was nearly a Swan. Apparently he came up to Sydney (stayed in Kings Cross) for eight weeks and was in a court battle with the VFL for a clearance for 'restraint of trade'. He won that battle but by then Tom Hafey had signed Greg Williams, Bernard Toohey and David Bolton and therefore no room in the salary cap for Maurice. Interesting reading.
  • 0918330512
    Senior Player
    • Sep 2011
    • 1654

    #2
    Originally posted by YvonneH
    I have just read in a book called 'Great Australian Football Stories' that Maurice Rioli was nearly a Swan. Apparently he came up to Sydney (stayed in Kings Cross) for eight weeks and was in a court battle with the VFL for a clearance for 'restraint of trade'. He won that battle but by then Tom Hafey had signed Greg Williams, Bernard Toohey and David Bolton and therefore no room in the salary cap for Maurice. Interesting reading.
    Rioli's attempted recruitment is actually pretty well documented in a number of books & on the 'net. Lots of players took pay cuts to try & fit him in. He was even granted a permit to play with the Swans on May 2nd 1986 by the Federal Court, however, didn't play him because of the risk of a $10000 fine & loss of Premiership points.

    Edelston successfully recruited a heap of talent over a couple of years ... Hafey, Williams, Bolton & Toohey (Geel), Gerard Healy (Melb), Jim Edmond (Foots), Merv Neagle (Ess), Glenn Coleman (Fitz), Paul Morwood (StK) - who we had to later release for salary cap reasons) & Tim Barling & Stephen James of Richmond (the latter also cut before playing, I think, for salary cap reasons & returned to Richmond).

    They also unsuccessfully tried for David Cloke (Coll), Andrew Bews (Geel), Simon Madden & Glen Hawker (Ess) & as potential coaches Kevin Sheedy, Leigh Matthews & Mick Malthouse (Sheeds was Edelston's 1st choice, Matthews was also interviewed but Hafey had a better public profile & Premiership & Grand Final success with Richmond & Collingwood (if you can call Grand Final losses a success) respectively.

    & according to Greg Williams (autobiography) they also made a play for: Michael Roach (Rich), Justin Madden (Carl), Michael Byrne (Haw) - we got him the next year - & Terry Daniher (Ess) - who would've joined Tony ... imagine if we succeeded there the then gone on to get Chris & entice Neale to join his brothers ... & then picked up Joe under the father son ... I have a vivid imagination!).

    Interesting years for the Club 1985/6

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