HAWTHORN star Cyril Rioli is using the pain of last year’s Grand Final loss as motivation to run faster, harder and longer in season 2013.
Before being hamstrung by injury, Rioli was enjoying one of his best seasons, with his ability to split his time between the midfield and forward paying dividends for the Hawks.
The Hawks star had gathered 20 disposals or more in three of his five matches and twice kicked bags of four goals despite playing further up the field.
He was injured midway through the final term of the Round 5 win over North Melbourne, a game in which he provided the spark Hawthorn needed to turn around its lacklustre form.
Hawthorn had struggled all day, with its stars, like forward Lance Franklin well held by their opponents.
Rioli though was the one that got loose, using his speed and nouse around goals to give Hawthorn the momentum on a number of occasions.
He was undoubtedly the match winner, and will probably be awarded three Brownlow votes at the end of the season despite finishing the game on the bench with an injured hamstring.
He is averaging 19.4 disposals per game and 2.4 goals – not bad for a player whose role isn’t exclusively inside forward 50.
The Hawks star says it is the pain of last year’s lost Grand Final that is driving him and his teammates this season.
“You always go back to the Grand Final - that plays in my head a lot,” Rioli said on HawksTV’s HawkTalk program.
“That hunger, the team definitely has that this year.”
He says he uses that pain as motivation to push himself to the limit, to push the boundaries in training to get that edge he and his team needs to take their game to the next level and go one step further in 2013.
“When I get comfortable in myself, I start thinking about that (the Grand Final) and pull myself back and remind myself that you don’t want to feel that pain ever again,” he said.
Rioli has missed the past four matches with the hamstring injury, with the Club aiming to have its star back on the field for the Hawks after the bye.
That means he could be back in three weeks, with the Club taking on Melbourne this weekend before having its scheduled by in Round 11.
“The hammy is coming along well, I’ve had a couple of scans to check up on it and all is going pretty well,” Rioli said.
“I’ve been doing some running sessions; we’re getting there slowly but on track for (a return) after the bye.
“I was going pretty well, I was kicking goals and getting a few touches.
“This is a bit of a setback but I’ve now got a different mindset going into games – I’ve got a bit of hunger behind me and I want to get back out there.”
