David Riolo (born 20 April 1972) is a former

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1990s for Illawarra and Parramatta.

Background

Riolo was born in

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Overview

Riolo played fullback over the course of his nine-year career in the Australian Rugby League competition. He also represented Italy in 1999 Mediterranean Cup and in the Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament in 2000. Following his retirement from rugby league, David Riolo worked as a sports reporter for WIN Television, before turning his attention to sports management as an accredited

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

, National Rugby League and Australian Rugby Union agent. Riolo is responsible for the careers of a significant number of Australia’s sporting stars.

Playing career

Riolo played the majority of his career with the

Illawarra Steelers The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On the 13th of December 1980, the ...

, his hometown club, before retiring with the Parramatta Eels in 1998. Riolo's final first grade game as a player was the 1997 major qualifying final against North Sydney which Norths won 24-14. At the end of the 1999 season, Riolo represented

in the first

Mediterranean Cup On 11 July 1998 the first ever 13 a side rugby league match was played between Italia and Lebanon, which took place at Leichhardt Oval - Sydney - Australia, the match was known as 'The Mediterranean Cup'. A crowd of almost 10,000 watched as these ...

. Riolo later captain/coached The Azzuri in the Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament in which they were runners-up to British Amateur Rugby League Association, narrowly missing out on a place at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. In 2015, Riolo played for the Australian

Oztag Tag-rugby belt Tag rugby, or flag rugby, is a non-contact team game in which each player wears a belt that has two velcro tags attached to it, or shorts with velcro patches. The mode of play is based on rugby league with many similarities to to ...

over-40's side in the World Cup.

Sports agent

Early in his player management career, Riolo cut his teeth working with prominent internationals

Jason Cayless Jason Paul Cayless (born 15 January 1980) is a former New Zealand international rugby league footballer who played as a prop in the 2000s and 2010s. He played for the Parramatta Eels, Sydney Roosters and the Wests Tigers in the NRL and St Hele ...

, Craig Fitzgibbon,

Andrew Ryan Andrew Ryan may refer to: * Andrew Ryan (''BioShock''), a character in the 2007 video game ''BioShock'' *Andrew Ryan (rugby league) (born 1978), Australian rugby league player * Andrew Ryan (diplomat) (1876–1949), British diplomat *Andrew Ryan (a ...

and

Michael Vella Michael Vella is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative forward, he played his club football in the NRL ...

. Today, he manages a number of the NRL’s highest profile players, including

Todd Carney Todd Carney (born 2 June 1986), also known by the nickname of "Toddy", is an Australian former professional rugby league player who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He has previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Sydney Roosters and ...

Paul Gallen Paul Gallen (born 14 August 1981) is an Australian professional boxer and former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and forward and captained the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL to their maiden NRL Premiership in 2016. ...

, James Graham,

Brett Morris Brett Morris (born 23 August 1986) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played on the and as a for the St George Illawarra Dragons, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the Sydney Roosters in the NRL and Australia at ...

and Josh Morris. His AFL clients include

Kieren Jack Kieren Jack (born 28 June 1987) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was the co-captain of the Sydney Swans, alongside Jarrad McVeigh from 2013 to 2016. Early life ...

. Most notably, Riolo has shaped the career of multi-sport athlete Karmichael Hunt, successfully negotiating cross-code moves from the Brisbane Broncos (NRL) to Biarritz Olympique in France (Top 14 Rugby Union), and then to the Gold Coast Suns (AFL) back in Australia. On 26 April 2012, Riolo was banned for 6 months by the NRL over his actions in the Melbourne Storm salary cap affair.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riolo, David 1972 births Living people Australian people of Italian descent Australian rugby league players Australian sports agents Illawarra Steelers players Italy national rugby league team captains Italy national rugby league team coaches Italy national rugby league team players Parramatta Eels players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league player agents Rugby league players from Wollongong