Port Adelaide goalsneak Willie Rioli has only added to the intensifying feud between the Power and Hawthorn, teeing off at the Hawks in a since-deleted Instagram post following their upset win.
The Power reignited their spluttering season with a 30-point win on Sunday night to finish Gather Round, including a stunning start in which they led by as much as 71 points midway through the second quarter.
Rioli was at the centre of a major skirmish on a heated night, cheekily showing Hawks defender Changkuoth Jiath the ball before kicking the game-sealing goal in the final quarter, with Jiath reacting by shoving Rioli to the ground and giving away a second free kick and goal, while also triggering a heated fracas.
It was one of several spotfires that pockmarked the evening, with the Power and Hawks only adding to their developing rivalry that began after Port’s thrilling semi final win last year, when coach Ken Hinkley taunted Hawks gun Jack Ginnivan over a social media comment to spark a heated war of words between the coach and Hawks captain James Sicily.
Taking to Instagram after the win, Rioli revealed his ‘hatred’ for the Hawks goes beyond any of his teammates, referring to the club’s treatment of famous cousin Cyril, who recently took the club to court over racism allegations, and father Willie Sr, who was at the Hawks for one year in 1991 before being delisted.
“Play with fire, your [sic] gonna get burnt,” Rioli wrote.
“My hatred for this club goes way pass [sic] last year antics, what they did to my dad, an [sic] my brother [Cyril Rioli], is why I can’t stand them, not the players #Cococlub.”
The post has since been deleted.
The rivalry extended to Power supporters, who taunted Hawks players as they left the Adelaide Oval with ‘aeroplane’ gestures, in reference to Hinkley’s mockery of Ginnivan.
Speaking after the match, Hinkley downplayed the budding rivalry and his own role in reigniting it.
“The rivalry in sport is great… we sometimes overplay it a little bit,” he said.
“Both sides will embrace rivalry and we always are up for any of those sorts of things but let’s not let them go too far the wrong way.”
