HAWTHORN forward Michael Osborne has pledged to work closely with Cyril Rioli after the youngster’s frustration at the close-checking tactics employed by Port Adelaide boiled over on the weekend.
Rioli, an important cog in the Hawks’ forward set-up, will miss Saturday’s game against the Sydney Swans after a clash with the Power’s Nick Salter shortly before three-quarter time at AAMI Stadium resulted in a suspension being handed down by the match review panel.
“We need to work better with him at being able to deal with that a bit better and not get into these situations,” Osborne said on Tuesday. “It’s pretty tough for him, but he’s playing some great football and he’s a great player so he’s attracting a lot of attention from opposition players.
“I think we all get frustrated with a bit of close attention from the opposition and not being able to play your natural game and getting out there and being blocked. It’s natural that everyone’s going to have frustrations with that.
“Typically he’s been pretty quiet in his career so far, but you see a lot of players can lose it. Barry Hall took the limelight there with his brain-snap, but these things get blown up a fair bit as well.
“Hopefully we won’t lose him again.”
Osborne said the side would be looking to come out and play with more spirit after the upset loss to Port.
“We just noticed a few things that we need to improve on,” he said of the review of last weekend’s game.
“I’m not going to go into exactly what they are, but we had a look at where individuals need to improve their game and certain aspects of the team game plan that we might be able to do better.”
The Swans are in danger of slipping out of the top eight, having lost four of their last six games, but the experienced core of players in their line-up meant they were still a dangerous opponent worthy of the Hawks’ respect, Osborne said.
Several players including Carl Peterson, Beau Muston, Jordan Lisle and Ryan Schoenmakers pushed their claims for a recall with strong performances for Box Hill at the weekend.
Jarryd Roughead’s difficulties in front of goal at times during the season have been well-documented, but Osborne dismissed criticism of his teammate.
“It’s been harped on a bit in the media for the majority of the season, but he brings a lot of other positives to the team,” he said.
“He creates strong contests and he’s there as a target for us, so as long as he’s contributing to the team then he’s a valuable player for us.”
Osborne was speaking at the launch of Multicultural Harmony Day - a joint initiative of the club and 13CABS aimed at improving the standing of Melbourne’s cab drivers in the community.
