West Coast Eagles staffer Peter Staples provides character reference, vouches for Willie Rioli

The West Coast staffer Willie Rioli confided in about his drug possession charge might also be the man who helped the premiership Eagle escape a Darwin court without conviction. Eagles’ integrity officer Peter Staples was one of a number of character references Rioli’s legal council tendered in court to help clear the 25-year-old. A former WA police sergeant, Staples joined West Coast in 2010 when the club was trying to rebuild their image following an explosive drug-fuelled culture crisis headlined by the club’s 2006 premiership. Staples has since become a pillar to lean on for players. MORE RIOLI DRUG SAGA Quartermaine: Now the circus is over, Rioli faces his footy fate ‘Humiliated’ Eagle escapes conviction for drug stash Eagles knew about Rioli’s drug charge ‘last week’ It was Staples who travelled to Darwin late last year to help support Rioli when he faced the AFL anti-doping tribunal. It was Staples who waited behind in the drop-off area at Perth airport when a player forgot to pack their boots for West Coast’s 2019 semi-final clash against Geelong — the match Rioli was infamously suspended on the eve of. It was also Staples who made headlines when he was caught shoving a television cameraman and telling them to “p*** off” as they tried to film star ruckman Nic Naitanui’s return to Perth with a serious knee injury after a clash with Collingwood at the MCG. While the look wasn’t great, the intent to protect a player was sound. When the Eagles abandoned Rioli to fight his own battle in Darwin this week, as Eagles football manager Craig Vozzo cited a mixture of shock, anger and a failure of trust, Staples could still be called on during the forward’s darkest hour to help sidestep his way out of his latest indiscretion. For that, Rioli has to repay some faith.