Yze backs Balta return, says he’s been ‘punished enough’; Rioli trains, Hinkley calls for stricter rules on social media

Yze said Balta had served his league suspension and last week’s stint in the VFL stint was to prove the key defender was match fit. “At the start of this whole process, he’s been working on himself, and he can’t wait to get out and … try to earn the respect back of not only us as a club and his teammates but … our supporters and the AFL,” said Yze. Loading “He’s a Richmond man … we’ve punished him enough.” After fielding several questions about Balta, Yze he was “not going to answer any more questions about him” and wanted to focus on the club’s upcoming match against undefeated Gold Coast.

Balta settled a civil case with assault victim Thomas Washbrook last month after a NSW court was shown CCTV footage of the assault. He is due to be sentenced on April 22. Rioli back at training, Hinkley calls for social media accountability AAP Port Adelaide’s Willie Rioli has returned to training after receiving racist abuse online, which prompted his coach Ken Hinkley to call for stronger laws to hold social media users accountable. Willie Rioli was back at training for Port Adelaide on Wednesday. Credit: Getty Images

Rioli shut down his social media accounts after being the latest Indigenous AFL star to be racially abused. “It’s a disgrace the racism that still goes on in our world,” Hinkley said on Wednesday. “With the way we talk about lots of things in society, and yet that is still tolerated and still allowed to go on. “There almost should be a law that makes people accountable.”

Late in Sunday night’s win over Hawthorn, Rioli theatrically held the ball out at Hawk Changkuoth Jiath before scoring from the goal line. Power coach Ken Hinkley at his media conference on Wednesday. Credit: Getty Images Jiath pushed the Power forward over, triggering a melee - and a free kick to Rioli, who promptly kicked another goal. 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.” Racist comments were made on his post before the Port goalsneak deleted his account.

“It’s sad that for his own wellbeing, he needs to do that, I think that’s really sad,” Hinkley said. Rioli returned to training on Wednesday morning after a day away from Alberton. Loading “He’s fine and he’s OK,” Hinkley said. “He’s here today, as you would have seen, took a little bit of time to deal with what he was dealing with, but he’ll be okay and he’ll be available to play.”

Rioli has been subjected to racial abuse online almost weekly. “It’s for every game he plays like this, it doesn’t just happen against Hawthorn,” Hinkley said. “That’s the thing we’ve got to understand, that this happens to Willie Rioli more than any other person that I’ve been involved with, that he cops that type of abuse.” Hinkley said it wasn’t his place to speak to Rioli’s reference of hatred for Hawthorn.

“The feelings about the Hawthorn stuff, I think that’s not for me to talk about,” he said. “That’s his history and his family’s history and everything else that’s gone on. “We respect the Hawthorn Football Club. “There’s nothing in my mind that’s got anything to do with Hawthorn other than Willie, he’s got his own little challenges there.” 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. Loading Hinkley called for greater debate about stopping online abuse. “We don’t know the answer, what can be done better or more?” he said. “It seems like it’s most common sense people and really good people understand that’s a no-go zone and it should be a no-go zone.

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