The Waikerie Football Club gave “Roo” the start when he began playing with the Under-10’s in 1981 through to 1991 when he played in the club’s A-Grade premiership team at the tender age of 16. It was the Magpies first premiership win in 17 years.
In 1992, he signed with both West Adelaide and the Adelaide Crows, playing the season with the Bloods but still living in Waikerie. Ricciuto was one of the rare breed of footballers, who went straight into a senior side without playing any reserves or Under-19 football.
The season with West Adelaide had prepared him well AFL football, but imagine the disappointment when he wasn’t picked for the Crows until Round Six against the might of Hawthorn. Four best-on-grounds with the Bloods had given the selectors all the convincing they needed. “Roo” performed well enough (1 goal and 15 possessions) to hold his place in the side and the rest is history.
He still longed to be back “home” in Waikerie and would grab every opportunity to return to the bush, his family and his mates. Waikerie has always been home. He said in 2007 “Waikerie has been very important to me. I am also extremely grateful for the support I have received from the entire Riverland.”
In his second year, 1994, he established himself as one of the key players for the Crows and one of the stars of the competition. He finished 3rd in the Club Best and Fairest, was voted Best Team Man and won All-Australian selection. The honours just rolled on from there and by 2003 he had won the prestigious Brownlow Medal followed by being runner-up the following year.
Captaincy of the Crows came his way in 2001 and he was to lead the club in legendary fashion for the next seven years until his retirement through injury on August 16th, 2007.
He wasn’t finished with Waikerie and he was drawn back in 2008. His cameo appearance in an Anzac Day match against Loxton drew a record crowd. He scored a match-winning goal in the dying moments of the Grand Final against Renmark.
Waikerie will always be home.
His post-football career has seen him become a leading businessman and establishing a burgeoning career in the media.
THE ROO PROJECT?
The Roo Project was conceived in 2014 when a group of Waikerie residents got together to discuss ways of promoting their town.
Waikerie is off the “main drag” as far as travelling goes and some residents have been concerned about whether the town is dying from lack of people visiting.
An idea was conceived to promote the town through an iconic Waikerie feature. It was unanimous that the greatest “feature” to come out of the town, was in fact a person, Mark Ricciuto (“the Roo”).
The Roo has remained a Waikerie boy ever since he first stepped on the Richmond oval for West Adelaide in 1992. The rest is history.
A small committee has been formed and they are presently looking at presenting the project to the Riverland community and getting more and more people involved.
As committee person Linda McKay says “this is our big chance to do something for our great little town and derive some income from visitors who travel to the area. The project is not about The Roo, it is about promoting the town and the Riverland.”
Sports historian Bob Utber, the driving force behind the project, contacted the noted South Australian sculptor Ken Martin to commission a statue of Ricciuto, once funding had been obtained, to be erected in Waikerie and not Adelaide.
Utber said” we nearly always forget where our champions come from when a monument or a feature is installed. Think of Weary Dunlop, Darrel Baldock, Black Caviar and Makybe Diva – all where they were born”. All four statues have increased the visitor flow to their respective towns since their erection.
The statue cast in bronze (see front of brochure) will be life size and with a plinth would stand at least 3,000mm above ground level. This would allow for the kicking leg to protrude well beyond the plinth edge thus adding substantial drama to the study. The estimated cost is around $140,000 with the money to be raised by generous club, sporting clubs and fans plus corporate and government support.
Adelaide Football Club Chairman, Rob Chapman
“Mark Ricciuto is a legend of the Adelaide Football Club. Whilst Mark’s playing achievements speak for themselves, his leadership and ability to inspire his teammates is what made him a great player and great captain of our Club. Whilst he now helps to lead the Club from the Boardroom instead of the playing field, his resilience, competitiveness and will to win brings great wisdom to the Club. Mark holds Waikerie and the Riverland area close to his heart and has been an exceptional role model for the community over the course of his outstanding career.”
“As Chairman of the Adelaide Football Club, I thoroughly support the Roo Project to bring Roo back to Waikerie and we think this is a great program to throw our support behind.”
If you are interested in contributing to this project, bank account details are as follows:
Bank Account Name: RWCC Inc. – The Roo Project
BSB: 105048
Account Number: 4647 8840
Donations can be made through any branch of BankSA.
