Footy star Willie Rioli is accused of sending threatening post-match message to opponent he slammed on Instagram – as team launches investigation

Footy star Willie Rioli has kicked off an investigation by a rival AFL club by allegedly sending one of their stars a threatening message after the sides clashed on Saturday.

The Western Bulldogs are chasing up claims Port Adelaide star Rioli sent an intimidating text about their star Bailey Dale to one of his teammates after the team’s big win over the Power in Ballarat.

Rioli hit Dale in the chest in the third quarter of the Dogs’ 90-point win and was fined $1000 for the rule breach.

The Dogs are now expected to raise the alleged threatening message with the AFL and the Power.

Rioli took to Instagram to slam Dale and blame him for the stoush after the match, which the Bulldogs won 20.11 (131) to 5.11 (41).

‘Someone’s once told me if ya can’t take a hit, don’t swing it,’ he wrote over a grab from video showing him lining up Dale and hitting him.

Bale (pictured with fiancee Erin Meade) was struck in the chest by Rioli during the Dogs’ huge win over the Power on Saturday

‘They won’t show the first punch but they’ll show my slap on the chest tho.

‘But I understand I’m there story lines, to create opinions and for revenues.’

Rioli made headlines over another fiery Instagram post last month, when he was given time off by Port after attacking Hawthorn on the social media platform.

He kicked a rare double goal after goading Hawks star Changkuoth Jiath, who then shoved him over, triggering a melee.

Rioli posted the incident in an Instagram story with the caption: ‘Play with fire, you’re gonna get burnt. My hatred for this club goes way pass (sic) last year(‘s) antics, what they did to my dad, and my brother, is why I can’t stand them. Not the players.’

The Port goalsneak received racial abuse in response, before deleting the post and receiving the backing of the AFL Players Association over the incident.

‘The racist and homophobic comments sent to Willie on his social media accounts are beyond acceptable,’ AFLPA chief Paul Marsh said in a statement.

‘For what feels like the 1000th time, we ask these so-called football supporters to stop racially abusing the players.

Rioli hit out at Dale and alleged he started the confrontation (pictured) in a fiery Instagram post

Rioli also appeared to claim the media is biased against him

‘Thanks to those fans who continue to call this out.’

Rioli’s father Willie Sr, who died in 2022, was drafted by the Hawks in 1990 but didn’t play a senior game.

His cousin Cyril Rioli, a four-time premiership Hawk, and other former Hawthorn Indigenous players last year settled a federal court case with the club over racism claims.

Indigenous Olympics great Nova Peris then revealed that she believes some of Rioli’s anger with the Hawks stems from a joke club great Jason Dunstall made about Rioli Sr when he was elevated to Legend status in a Hall of Fame ceremony last June.

During his speech, the 60-year-old admitted he was never known for his athletic ability and fitness, and illustrated his point by saying in his 14 years with Hawthorn he only beat two other players when it came to endurance – one of whom was Rioli.

‘I remember we had a young man come down from the Top End, by the name of Willie Rioli,’ Dunstall began.

‘I don’t think Willie had done a lot of conditioning; he looked like an 18-gallon keg with legs.

‘I got the scent of my first kill – it was invigorating, let me tell you … a week later, he was back in the Top End, poor old Willie.’ 

Rioli got crunched in this hit during the Power’s 90-point drubbing in Ballarat – and now he could be in trouble with the AFL too

The 29-year-old made headlines with another Instagram post last month as he revealed why he hates Hawthorn (pictured)

Peris blasted Dunstall, accusing him of publicly humiliating a man who couldn’t defend himself. 

‘I was stunned and appalled by Jason Dunstall’s decision to use his Australian Hall of Fame platform to mock the late Willie Rioli Sr,’ she told News Corp.

‘To make a joke at his expense from the podium of one of football’s highest honours is not just poor taste, it is cowardice.

‘It is a stark betrayal of what that honour is meant to represent.’

Peris specifically brought up Dunstall’s remark about Rioli returning to his home in the Northern Territory.

‘That wasn’t a throwaway line,’ she said.

‘It was a deliberate attempt at humour at the expense of a man who had passed away, a proud Aboriginal footballer who cannot speak back.

‘It was a calculated moment, delivered with a smile, met with laughter.

‘It was a public humiliation of a man who should be remembered with honour.’