Every football fan has witnessed at least one of Maurice Rioli’s famous chase-down tackles over the years, however, coach Adem Yze sees far more in the young talent than just that.   

“He isn’t sneaking up, he is coming at high-speed,” Yze said this week.  

“The things that he is doing off the ball are highlighted, and it’s not just those tackles, he has done a few amazing efforts like that.

“His off-ball running and the things that aren’t seen are seen inside our four walls and highlighted and celebrated, so he is really important for us.

“It will be nice for him to get some reward on the scoreboard over the next few weeks.”

After playing his 50th AFL game last Thursday night, Rioli has embarked on his sixth season at the Swinburne Centre, with Yze encouraged by the form he has displayed during the pre-season.   

The 23-year-old conjured 13 AFL games last season, but a dip in form saw the dynamic forward feature in Richmond’s VFL side to build up confidence.

“He worked really hard on his game for that month in VFL, and we saw the rewards of that at the end of last year, but his pre-season set him up for what he's been able to produce,” Yze said.  

“His body's in really good shape, our players love playing with him. The things that he does off the ball and obviously his pressure, and the pressure that he brings is exciting.

“Then with the ball, he's starting to get some real bang for buck and reward for effort, so the stuff that he's doing with Luke Breust around our execution and goalkicking and just your general skill execution, he's the cream on the top.

“He's such a good teammate. Our players love playing with him, and he started the season off nicely.”