The nephew of Maurice Rioli, the Richmond Football Club champion of the 1980s, Rioli grew up on the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory, but was recruited from the South Fremantle Football Club in the 1998 Rookie Draft. His father, Sebastian Rioli, played for South in the 1970s, and his younger brother Shannon Rioli joined South in 2010.
He is renowned for his goal sense, silky skills and his ability to play well even when overweight and unfit. During his final season in 2006, Rioli battled injury problems and only played four games. Dean Rioli played his last, and his 100th American Federation of Labor-Congress game for the Essendon Football Club on 26 August 2006.
He suffered a broken wrist during the game.
Following his retirement, Rioli returned to the Northern Territory to play in the Northern Territory Football League with the Tiwi Bombers, where he became a solid contributor and on-field leader. In October 2008 Rioli was appointed senior coach for 2009 at the Aberfeldie Football Club, in the Essendon District Football League.
Prior to this he was an assistant coach, a role he also performed in 2006 at the Keilor Park Football Club. Rioli continued as senior coach at Aberfeldie in 2010 but stepped down at the end of the home and away season.
He joined Osborne Football Club in the Hume Football League in 2011.
In a work move very dear to his heart, Dean runs the company DRAES which stands for Dean Rioli Aboriginal Employment Services. Based in Essendon, a suburb of Melbourne, it specialises in finding the right type of job for indigenous people.
He was a member of South Fremantle"s 1997 Premiership winning team
