WHEN the Hawks run out onto the MCG on Thursday night, Cyril Rioli is expected to be watching on from the other end of the continent.

The 29-year-old, who retired earlier this season to move back to the Northern Territory, will watch his mates on television, most likely surrounded by family at their rented home in suburban Darwin.

The rumour mill about Rioli since his swift exit from the hustle and bustle of the Melbourne AFL bubble has been running hot.

There was the suggestion Chris Fagan and Luke Hodge could lure him to Brisbane, there was a Facebook group linking him to South Fremantle as a fly-in fly-out player and there was even Alastair Clarkson's cheeky text to which Rioli replied with a smiley face emoji. 

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But the reality is, Rioli is keeping a low profile.

And despite Clarko's loose attempt to lure his former star back, Hawthorn hasn't reached out to Rioli to attend the game back in Melbourne.

"As Cyril is in Darwin now enjoying retirement, we're not aware of his movements," a club spokesperson told AFL.com.au.

The four-time premiership small forward has been seen running around the footpaths of Darwin – maintaining a level of fitness – but even those at St Mary's Football Club where his cousins play still don't know if he'll be pulling on the boots when the NTFL season begins.

"There's been some informal contact," St Mary's president Steve Ludwig told AFL.com.au this week.

"We're respecting his privacy, and him trying to have a break."

Another former Hawk – Rioli's 2008 premiership teammate Brent Renouf – is now the coach of St Mary's, another link that might make playing in the local competition an attractive proposition.

The new season in the top end, which runs opposite to the AFL season because of the climate, is set to begin in early October.

"He might have to do a pre-season to hold his spot," Ludwig joked before confirming: "It'd be great to have him on board."

So at least for now, it'll be couch time for Rioli when the Hawks hit the field against Richmond, 3762 kilometres away from the MCG.