Daniel Rioli and partner share massive personal news as AFL world sends flood of messages

Daniel Rioli and partner Paris Lawrence have announced their engagement on social media, sparking a flood of congratulatory messages. Richmond premiership player Rioli and girlfriend Lawrence - a high-profile social media personality - shared some photos of the moment he popped the question on Tuesday.

“FOREVER,” wrote AFL star Rioli after dropping to one knee at the top of a mountain in Queenstown, New Zealand. “I can’t wait to marry the woman of my dreams.”

Rioli didn't spare any expense for the proposal, hiring a helicopter to take them to the top of the snowy peak. Rioli and Lawrence are enjoying a whirlwind getaway during Richmond's bye round.

“My best friend and I are getting married,” Lawrence posted. “(I) instantly cried. Whenever I look at this particular pic I cry again. In our love bubble. God I love him.”

Tayla Broad, who is the wife of Richmond player Nathan Broad, was among the many to offer congratulations. “Oh my god!!!! How gorgeous. Congrats guys, soak up all the love,” she wrote.

Fellow AFL players Tim Taranto, Mabior Chol, Oleg Markov and Trent Cotchin also commented, as did Tom Lynch, Jayden Short, Shai Bolton, Josh Gibcus. Channel 7 commentator and former AFLW player Abbey Holmes wrote: "Yay!!!! Congratulations beautiful people, so so happy for you."

Essendon players use bye-round to get engaged

Rioli's engagement follows that of Essendon players Jake Stringer, Kyle Langford and Mason Redman - who all popped the question to their partners last week. On Tuesday, Stringer said he's adamant the Bombers have taken their game to “another level” in the quest to end a 20-year finals winning drought, with the happy personal news across the bye weekend building positivity.

Stringer was one of three Bombers players to use their break last week to get engaged, with Langford and Redman also announcing engagements as the air of excitement and expectation builds at Essendon - who find themselves in the top-four heading into the second half of the season. The Bombers take on West Coast on Sunday after suffering back-to-back losses going into the bye, but Stringer reckons his team have been “losing well” and only suffering from poor conversion.

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Stringer, who has booted 26 goals in 2024, is adamant the Bombers' playing the style will hold up in finals. “Our style of footy in the past month has been one that is going to stand up in the later part of the season but the missing link is kicking goals,” Stringer said on Tuesday. “We seem to be kicking a lot of points. We’re getting a lot of supply but we’re not quite connecting. Sometimes you can be winning ugly and sometimes you can be losing well.

“The last two weeks we lost well in terms of how the game needed to look but our conversion inside 50 is not where it needs to be. We’re starting to play a very good style of football … we’re starting to build something really good. All across the board, we’ve taken our game to another level.”

Essendon last won a finals game in 2004. But they don't have to leave Melbourne for the next 10 games and are poised to make a charge to the finals this year.

with agencies