LIVEWIRE Cyril Rioli admits he was feeling the pinch in the latter stages of Hawthorn’s five-point preliminary final win over Adelaide at the MCG on Sunday.
Rioli was sent deep forward in the dying stages by Coach Alastair Clarkson to see if the speedy small forward could have an impact on the scoreboard.
With the Hawks trailing by a point with less than five minutes remaining, Rioli found himself on the end of a blistering clearance from teammate Shaun Burgoyne and somehow found a way to clutch an overhead mark.
From 30m out on a slight angle, Rioli put the Hawks back in front by five points only to minutes later dish off to forward partner, Lance Franklin to seal the win.
Rioli admitted he was fatigued in the dying stages, but you wouldn’t have known by looking at the slick midfielder/forward as his electrifying pace and evasive skills sealed Hawthorn’s spot in the 2012 AFL Grand Final.
A modest Rioli says he was “happy” with his contribution.
“I was pretty fatigued in that last 10 minutes,” he said at the Ricoh Centre on Sunday.
“It was good to get deep and make that contribution that I did.
“I was happy with it, normally it’s Buddy who’s kicking the goals but I was happy with what I did and kicked a goal and set up a couple.
“I’m just happy that we got across the line.”
A premiership player in his first season at AFL level, Rioli has felt the highs and lows of a finals series in the years following.
With a grand final berth beckoning on Saturday, the 23-year-old admits that a premiership in 2012 would mean a lot more than the one he achieved in his debut season.
“I’ve felt the pain of losing finals, certainly the prelim last year,” he said.
“This time around it’s a lot different (to 2008), it’s going to certainly mean a lot more to me if we get over the line.”
The Hawks speedster says the pain of last year’s preliminary final loss to Collingwood has made him and the team even hungrier for success.
“The hurt last year really hit me,” he said.
“To be in this year’s grand final, hopefully we can get over the line and I’ll be a lot happier.
“The hunger from last year, that has really helped us.”
Kate Salemme is a member of Hawthorn Football Club's Digital Media team reporting exclusively for hawthornfc.com.au from the Ricoh Centre.
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