Hawthorn champion Cyril Rioli has informed his teammates he is retiring, according to SEN Time On host Sam McClure.
The Hawks have confirmed the news.
“The decision to retire from football is something that I have thought long and hard about over the past 12 months,” Rioli said.
“I’ve weighed everything up and I am confident the decision I’ve made is the right one for me and my family.
“Football has been my life but it’s always been difficult being away from home. Now is the right time to go home and spend more time with friends and family.
“I love the Hawthorn Football Club and I cannot thank them enough for the opportunities they’ve given me and the way they’ve embraced me and my family over the past 11 years.
“I can walk away from the game having achieved everything I could have ever dreamed of and I’m forever grateful for the opportunities I have received.
“I’d like to thank the Hawthorn fans for all their support over the years, it has been an honour to play in front of you each week.
“I’d also like to thank my manager, Adam Ramanauskas from TLA Worldwide, for all the support he has have given my family and I throughout my career.
“Lastly, thank you to my wife Shannyn and all my family, whose support and sacrifice has made it possible for me to live out my childhood dream.
“I’ll always be a Hawthorn person and I look forward to seeing what the boys can achieve over the rest of the year and beyond.”
It was Hawthorn’s day off, but players and staff were called in so Rioli could announce his decision.
“Some pretty sad news I’ve got to report, I’m out at Waverly Park at Hawthorn’s headquarters this morning and Cyril Rioli, four-time premiership superstar, has just told his teammates and staff in the last couple of minutes that he is retiring from AFL football, effective immediately,” McClure said.
“It’s been an ongoing discussion for a number of weeks, we know he was granted indefinite leave by the footy club to return home to Darwin with his partner, spent a bit of time there, he flew back to Melbourne early last week.
“He has been in constant communication with the club and his management about his situation and he wants to be closer to his family.”
Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson praised the impact Rioli has made in his career.
“Cyril has been an outstanding servant of this football club for a long period of time and there have been very few players that have brought as much excitement to the game,” he said.
“His ability to influence a contest with a minimal amount of disposals is like no player I have ever seen and that’s why the whole footy world loves watching him play.
“Cyril came into our club as an 18-year-old kid and leaves an integral part of the fabric of the brown and gold family and the history of our game.
“I’d like to thank Cyril, Shannyn and the broader Rioli and Long families for their outstanding contribution to our club and wish them all the best for the next chapter of their lives.”
Rioli played 189 games for Hawthorn, winning four premierships, being named in three All-Australian sides and taking home the 2015 Norm Smith Medallist.