The AFL's decision not to sanction Willie Rioli for his alleged threat towards a Bulldogs player continues to come under scrutiny.
Rioli is reported to have messaged a teammate of Bailey Dale after Port Adelaide's loss to the Bulldogs on Saturday.
According to journalist Tom Morris, the message was along the lines of: "I have lots of friends in NT, he should be careful about leaving the hotel in Darwin next week."
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The Bulldogs play Gold Coast in Darwin this Saturday night.
That message came after Rioli and Dale clashed on the field in Ballarat as the Bulldogs claimed a 90-point win.
On Monday, the AFL and Port Adelaide released separate statements, essentially declaring the matter put to bed after Rioli reached out to Dale following the reports of his threat.
"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," the league's statement read.
Since then, Morris has reported on SEN that Rioli has previously been alleged to have made similar threats to opponents on the field.
"Rioli is allegedly - and I use the word allegedly, very deliberately here - a repeat offender when it comes to threatening players from opposition teams," Morris said.
"Earlier in the year, he played a game in which he told [an opponent] direct words to the effect of, 'Be careful, my friends will come for you.'"
These reports, if accurate, further highlight the AFL's confounding decision to not punish Rioli, which has been met with widespread criticism from the football media.
"There needs to be a lot more explanation around why they arrived at a statement like that and there was no other course of action taken against Willie Rioli," Tim Watson said on SEN, echoing similar sentiments from many other commentators.
"If you flip the bird you’re getting a fine of $1000 or $1500. There’s no penalty that’s been applied to Willie Rioli. None. Zero.
"What people want - and it’s not too much to ask - is consistency. We just want consistency of messaging from the AFL on all matters."