What did Willie Rioli say and will the AFL take action against the Port Adelaide star?

More claims of threats towards opposition players have emerged against Port Adelaide's Willie Rioli, with three different clubs now involved.

The claims range from threats made on the field to at least one made via a message off the field.

Here's everything you need to know in a quickly unfolding story.

What sparked the claims and what did Willie Rioli say?

The Western Bulldogs claimed Rioli sent a message to one of their players, indirectly threatening violence against Bailey Dale following an altercation on the field on the weekend.

The claim suggested that Rioli had told Dale's teammate that the defender should be careful during the club's visit to Darwin this weekend to play the Gold Coast Suns — which was an indirect threat to Dale's safety.

While Rioli was fined $1,000 for the on-field physical altercation with Dale, the AFL deemed there was no case to answer for the off-field threat as Rioli had apologised to Dale.

"The AFL has today spoken to both Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs and while confirming it will take no further action to that undertaken by the clubs and players, it has reminded both clubs to ensure any communications remain respectful," a statement read.

What are the claims that have come out since?

After the AFL announced it would not take action against Rioli, two further claims emerged of the forward making "pretty violent" threats against players from Geelong and Essendon during the 2024 season.

Footage has emerged of Rioli engaged in an aggressive push and shove with Cats players in their round nine match at Kardinia Park, after Rioli gave away a 100m penalty to Cats defender Zach Guthrie.

Rioli is then seen arguing with Zach's brother, Cameron, before a short clip shows him speaking aggressively towards Cats forward Brad Close.

Close is believed to have been the target of what has been described as a "horrific" personal threat.

An angry Jeremy Cameron is then seen confronting Rioli after the alleged comment.

Claims have been made that Laura Kane knew about the Geelong incident, but the AFL has denied it. (Getty Images: AFL Photos/Michael Willson)

After the match, Close and his fellow Cats players decided not to officially raise the incident with the AFL, but it was mentioned to Cats football boss Andrew Mackie.

Conflicting reports have since emerged about whether Mackie then communicated the incident to the AFL's football boss, Laura Kane, with The Age reporter Caroline Wilson saying that it had been raised — a claim the AFL dismissed as "entirely false" while the Cats said they did not approach the AFL.

After the Geelong incident came to light, a further alleged threat towards Essendon player Archie Roberts came to light from a game in early 2024. Both Roberts and the club did not take the matter further.

What is the AFL doing about the alleged threats?

The AFL initially decided to clear Rioli over the message to Dale, despite a flood of outrage from fans who questioned why players were being fined for incidents as small as flipping the bird at the crowd, while the Power star managed to escaped sanction.

However, the emergence of further alleged threats has sent the AFL scrambling, with claims it was unaware of the incidents from 2024.

High level discussions were underway on Wednesday morning to discuss the issue, with a "distressed" Rioli now potentially facing a significant fine or a suspension over the claims.

Port Adelaide are set to face cross-town rivals Adelaide on Saturday night in what is expected to be a heated match.

What have key figures said?

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley is set to face his usual press conference on Wednesday afternoon and will be pushed on the matter.

Club chair David Koch said he and the board were "incredibly angry" with Rioli.

"We're incredibly angry about the situation and Willie knows that. And what's said on the field is one thing. What's done off the field — particularly on social media — and a private message to another player who he thought would stay private but then was passed on, it gets very complicated," Koch said on Adelaide radio.

David Koch says the board is angry with Rioli, adding that comments made on the field are less problematic than those made off it. (AAP Image: Julian Smith)

"We've talked pretty sternly to Willie about it and said it's just not on.

"On field in the heat of the battle is one thing. Off-field and on social media is totally different. That's why we're really angry with Willie and what he did, and there's absolutely no excusing that, and don't get me wrong on it. But we've got a duty of care to support the players and turn a bit of attention on what society is doing to these players."

Koch reiterated that he thought on-field comments were a different situation from off-field.

"If you're going to start examining every comment, not only against Indigenous players but other players as well, then I'm not sure where that will end up, because it happens constantly," he said.

"You can't just isolate a couple of comments from a particular player. Otherwise you then start to open it up — or you should start to open it up — for comments across every player, and it would be never-ending at that stage.

"You'd either have to crack down on every comment and say, 'OK there's no sledging, there's no sledging getting inside people's heads, there's no sexual references, there's no racial comments,' all that sort of thing and you just ban it altogether."

Essendon coach Brad Scott said his club had no issues with Rioli.

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"It's not an Essendon issue. Our players have zero concerns," Scott said on Wednesday.

"There are community expectations around player behaviour on and off the field, but within those expectations, I have a pretty firm belief of what happens on the field should stay on the field, provided that it's within general community expectations.

"Our players feel that whatever was said or done on field against Port Adelaide should stay on the field. We're not interested in engaging further."

Geelong said in a statement that the alleged incident at Kardinia Park had be dealt with.

"In regards to a report on Tuesday night relating to an incident during the Geelong v Port Adelaide game in round nine, 2024, the club can confirm the matter was not raised with the AFL," a Cats statement said.

"The club spoke directly with Port Adelaide after the match and considered the matter dealt with."

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