Willie Rioli to return to AFL footy with the West Coast Eagles after one big mistake and an 18-month ordeal

For Willie Rioli, the ends may just about justify the means.

A whole 540 days after he was whisked away from West Coast’s team hotel in Melbourne on the eve of a blockbuster semi-final against Geelong, Rioli has his belated verdict — a backdated two-year suspension for tampering with a drug sample.

It’s a significant punishment for what Sporting Integrity Australia — formally ASADA — considers a significant offence. The maximum penalty looming over Rioli was four years out of the game, which would surely have been career over.

As it stands, he could theoretically play AFL football with the West Coast Eagles again in 2021. At the end of it all, this truly is the best-case scenario for Rioli and West Coast.

But as any coach will gladly…