Hawks champion Luke Hodge reveals his shock at Cyril Rioli racism claims

Four-time premiership winner Luke Hodge has revealed one of teammate Cyril Rioli’s racism claims against Hawthorn left him in shock as he was completely unaware of the incident despite being the team’s captain at the time.

Last Saturday the club was hit with damning claims by Rioli, who alleged a series of racist incidents led to his shock retirement from the AFL in 2018, aged just 28.

Rioli told The Age that a senior Hawks player asked his fellow players whether the partner of an Indigenous teammate was ‘also a b***g’.

He also detailed a conversation club president Jeff Kennett had with his wife Shannyn in 2018, in which he offered her loose change to ‘fix’ her designer ripped jeans.

Hodge (left, with Rioli during a game in 2010) said he was blindsided by his teammate’s claims of a shocking racist comment made during Hawthorn’s end of season trip in 2013

Rioli (far left, with Hodge on the far right after winning their fourth flag together in 2015) ‘didn’t feel supported’ at Hawthorn, the former skipper admitted

Kennett insists the comments were meant as a joke, while Rioli described the exchange as the ‘final straw’ in his relationship with the team.

Speaking on the radio show SEN’s Whateley, Hodge revealed he was blindsided by Rioli’s claim about the 2013 incident.  

‘I was most shocked by the 2013 story about what was taken to the leadership group and what was said back to the players, that was very concerning because I was sitting there as captain at that time and hadn’t heard of that story,’ he said.

‘That came across terribly and I wanted to find out if it was true, who did he go to and talk to, because the leadership group process we had … we went through any issues around the club, so if something of that seriousness had have been brought to the leadership group, you would’ve spoken about it.

‘I can tell you right now that wouldn’t have been the message that was sent back.’

Asked by host Gerard Whateley what he had learned about the incident since the claim emerged, Hodge said he thought the matter had been ‘resolved’.  

Hodge (left, next to Rioli at the 2015 grand final after party) said he now believes the 2013 incident was ‘resolved’ at the time after the player responsible for the slur made an apology

Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett will stand down from his post earlier than planned after Rioli said a conversation between the former Victorian premier and his wife was ‘the final straw’ in his relationship with the club

‘There was a senior player there, he got the two players together to discuss what was said and what happened,’ he explained.

‘There was an apology made, the apology was accepted 

‘I spoke to the Indigenous player who heard that and was hurt by those comments and he … said it was a heartfelt apology and because he knew the person and knew when he made the apology that he meant it, he said it was resolved then and we’ve been mates since.’

There have been calls for Kennett’s resignation and for Hawthorn to undertake a review into racism at the club since Rioli’s story became public.

Hodge (pictured at a Hawthorn fan day in 2015) confessed that Rioli’s teammates could have done a better job of making sure he was OK

Kennett had planned to vacate the presidency at the end of 2023, but will now stand down after June 30 this year.

Hodge – who played in four flag-wining Hawks sides and captained them for three of those wins – said he was sad, flat and upset after first learning of the Riolis’ claims.

He added that he believed ‘there were times when Cyril didn’t feel supported’ at Hawthorn.

‘Maybe we didn’t ask those pointed questions (about whether Cyril was OK) and it doesn’t sit comfortably with you.’