He was a terrific player who had a massive impact on the sport. We all saw him do ridiculous stuff on the field, but in many ways my favourtie anecdote was that although he won his third Premiership in the 2014 Grand Final, he only managed 12 games that year (after 15 in 2013), owing to persistent hamstring issues. An ordinary person having won a third Premiership would have been excused for enjoying the break and returning to the game on their own terms, but instead as I understand it Cyril Rioli spent the 2015 pre-season working hard with Hawthorn's strength and conditioning staff to re-learn how to run. Imagine that for one second - not learning how to kick better, or run faster, but how to do one of the most natural activities differently. I don't reckon that would have been easy. Anyhow, on the back of that effort he played 24 matches in 2015 (his best effort since debuting in 2008), won his fourth Premiership, and won the Norm Smith Medal to boot. In my view that's nothing short of incredible.
Cyril Rioli was a supremely gifted footballer, no question - but his status as one of the all-time greats came about just as much through his incredibly hard work. What a champion!
