RIKI HOLDS ROOTS CLOSE AMID CAREER MILESTONES
From a Kiwis Test debut in his home city to a deeply personal journey of cultural discovery during his fourth Māori All Stars camp, it’s been a momentous NRL off-season for Brisbane Broncos second-rower and Hornby Panthers junior Jordan Riki.
The 25-year-old featured in Māori All Stars’ tense 10-6 victory over their Indigenous counterparts at CommBank Stadium on Saturday, capping an emotional week in which he had – to a certain extent – a foot in each camp.
“Being away from home for eight years now, it’s just an awesome occasion and a special opportunity for myself to be able to reconnect to my culture,” Riki told Canterbury Rugby League in the lead-up to the match.
“Living in Australia, we don’t really get much New Zealand Māori culture over there. So it’s really awesome to come to these camps and reconnect with friends, and even family … you find out who’s your cousin and stuff like that, so it’s pretty cool.
“I’m going on a bit of a special journey as well, learning about my biological father’s [Indigenous heritage]
“For me to be able to go over to come into this camp and then also learn a little bit from the Indigenous team and talk to the elders as well, it’s pretty special.”
“For me being in this game, it’s opened some doors for me to reach out and learn as much as I can. I’m a proud Maori man but I’ve also got that Indigenous side”
Jordan Riki on representing the Maori as well as also learning more about his Indigenous heritage#NRLAllStars pic.twitter.com/GS1xAZdYPW
— The Run Home with Joel & Fletch (@JoelFletchSEN) February 14, 2025
Raglan-born Riki, whose iwi is Waikato-Tainui, has previously explored the Noongar culture of his biological father and has floated the possibility of representing the Indigenous All Stars in the future.
“My mum’s never kept it a secret … she’s always told me that my biological father was an Indigenous man from Australia. Sadly enough, he didn’t want to stick around while I was a kid, so I had a little bit of a lost feeling.
”Even though it’s a game at the end of the week, we’re all hugely involved and learning off each other. We do a lot of stuff together as teams – the boys and girls, all four teams, even the touch teams, we all come together and share knowledge and stories. So it’s a real special week.”
A player grounded in and strengthened by his Māori culture, All Stars forward Jordan Riki is also open to one day representing the Indigenous side of his identity. https://t.co/zpCna3qWYc
— NRL (@NRL) February 14, 2025
Riki came through Hornby’s ranks before venturing to Brisbane and impressing in the Hastings Deering Colts under-20s and Queensland Cup competitions for Norths Devils, as well as captaining Junior Kiwis against Australian Schoolboys in 2019.
The athletic tyro’s potential was recognised when he was chosen for the Māori All Stars in early-2020 before he had made his NRL debut, which eventually came midway through that season for the 20-year-old.
Chosen in New Zealand’s wider squad for the midyear Test against Tonga in 2022, Riki missed a place in the match-day 17 and the Kiwis’ World Cup squad in the face of fierce competition. Shoulder surgery ruled him out of likely Pacific Championships selection after featuring in the Broncos’ charge to the 2023 NRL grand final – but the long wait for a Kiwis jumper resulted in a serendipitous debut.
Riki earned his Test spurs in his hometown in New Zealand’s Pacific Championships opener last October, which doubled as the first match against Australia in Christchurch since 1989.
“Mum said to me, ‘you couldn’t have really wrote a better script’ – my junior rugby league and schooling in Christchurch was hugely special, and it was amazing to look out in the crowd with a lot of familiar faces that I have been involved with and helped me get on this journey,” Riki beamed.
“It was hugely emotional week and an emotional game. But I couldn’t have picked for a better game to debut in.”
Riki produced a busy 26 minutes off the bench in the second half of the Kiwis’ spirited 22-10 loss to the Kangaroos, but Leo Thompson’s return from suspension bumped him out of the side for the remainder of the tournament.
“I would have definitely loved to put the jersey back on again. I’m still hungry to get back in that same position. I’m just going to keep learning and keep putting my head down and working hard – that’s all I can do.
“I’m grateful for being given my debut from (coach) Stacey (Jones) and I’m ready to come back for more.”
Riki credits the rugby league grounding he received as a junior in Canterbury as a significant part of the heights he has scaled at the game’s elite levels.
He’s proud to have followed in the footsteps of Panthers greats from yesteryear – and to provide that same sort of inspiration for players to follow.
“It’s a special club and a lot of Kiwis have come out of Hornby. I remember being a kid, going in there and looking up on the wall and seeing Kiwi representatives coming from the club – a massive standout for me was David Kidwell.
“For me to be able to look up in the changing sheds and in the rooms and seeing his jersey and his Kiwis number was something for me to go for. And I definitely want to be that person for the next generation. Hopefully younger kids, men and women coming through now can look up in the changing room and see my jersey and Kiwis number and strive like I did as a junior.
“It’s definitely awesome to be able to be a part of that special club. I want to keep doing as much as I can to grow the game down in the South Island and there’s some special talent coming out of down there. I’m just extremely grateful to be able to be part of that family.”
Jordan’s mum, Janelle Riki-Waaka, is a director on the Canterbury Rugby League board, continuing her tireless involvement in the code at grassroots level – including with Hornby, as manager of her son’s junior teams, and the Canterbury Māori team’s manager.
“Mum’s obviously played a massive part in my career and who I am as a person,” Riki says.
“She sacrificed a lot for me to be here and she still says me to this day that she would love to live it all over again.
“Being involved in Canterbury Rugby League is hugely important to her because she wants to see young kids, men and women going out there and chasing their dream, whether it’s in rugby league or in other sports. She just wants to see them succeed and chase their dreams.
“She’s a very special lady to me and probably a lot of people out there in that rugby league community.”
With his representative commitments now on the backburner, Riki’s attention immediately turns to the Broncos’ 2025 NRL campaign.
All going to plan, he will bring up 100 first-grade appearances midway through the season – and Riki revealed incoming coach Michael Maguire has put the onus on him to develop into a leader in his fifth full season in the premiership.
“I’ve had a few conversations this year with ‘Madge’ coming in as the coach and he’s really singled me out and helped me. He’s been in my ear a bit saying that I’m a leader in this team, now that we’ve got a fair few younger boys coming through our team.
“He gave me the shoulder-tap and said, ‘if you can help the younger boys out and start being a bit of a leader around the place, then you’re not only helping me but the team as well’. I really took that with both hands and it was really nice to be able to have that trust from ‘Madge’ to give me more responsibility in the team.
“It’s been a very solid preseason as you’ve probably seen through the media. We’re definitely keen to come out firing.”
The irony is not lost on Riki that he has come under Maguire’s tutelage a couple of years later – and in a different arena – than he ideally would have liked.
The former Wigan, South Sydney and Wests Tigers mentor was New Zealand’s coach when Test honours eluded him in 2022-23, while Maguire’s successful Kiwis tenure ended prior to Riki’s debut after he took on the NSW job for the 2024 State of Origin series.
Brisbane subsequently axed coach Kevin Walters less than 12 months on from their heartbreaking grand final loss to Penrith, following a tumultuous 2024 campaign that saw the Broncos stumble to 12th. But Riki says Maguire has already made a positive impact at Red Hill and is the right coach to again unlock the seemingly limitless potential bubbling in the Broncos’ squad.
“He’s been awesome – obviously I’m hugely excited to play under someone that’s been so successful in the game,” Riki praises.
“He’s won premierships in both competitions, Super League and NRL, and obviously the international and Origin stuff as well.
“To be able to be coached by someone like him, he’s been around the game for such a long period and he’s got a lot of knowledge. To have the one-on-one time with him and sit there in the team meetings, what he has to say is massively important to me because then obviously it helps me grow my mental and physical game as well.
“So I’m definitely keen to run out there and represent the Broncos and there’s a lot of us that were probably a bit criticised [last season] … that’s a massive factor for us to go out there and show what we can do, not only away from footy but on the field as well.”
