Dean Rioli’s Anzac Day match appeared to be cut short when he left the ground early in the first quarter after copping a heavy knock from Collingwood's Jason Cloke. And he looked to be in even more trouble when he was immediately taken up the race and into the rooms by the Essendon medical staff. Rioli had started the match in scintillating form so Essendon fans collectively held their breath as he disappeared from view.

The bump didn't do any major damage so after getting the all clear he returned to the field midway through the second term. Rioli picked up where he left off and was one of the driving forces behind the Bombers’ 33-point victory.

It is extremely difficult for other Essendon players to get a look in when it comes to individual awards with James Hird in the team. Hird was the star of the day, but Rioli wasn’t far behind his skipper. He collected 24 touches in three quarters of football – 15 kicks, 10 marks and nine handballs.

""We actually got a lot of drive from Dean off the halfback flank when we put him there after half-time. Sometimes when players get injured they tend to fade out of the game but Dean did very well to come back on and have the contribution that he did,"" assistant coach Mark Harvey said.

Similar to Hird, it is not the number of possessions that Rioli gets, it is what he does with the ball when he gets it. He has the ability to find space and his vision and football smarts allow him to create play for the team. Harvey said that without doubt Rioli has close to the best skills at the club.

""Dean is a very calming influence on the team. Quite often he will get the ball and just wait and not panic and he uses a lot of hand signals and eye signals. He has great vision that a lot of aboriginal players have and that helps the team’s efficiency whenever he has the ball,"" Harvey said.