Junior Rioli will miss Port Adelaide's clash with Carlton on Saturday with respect to Tiwi custom 12 months on from his father's passing.

After the sudden death of his Dad, aged 50, last year, Rioli took on the name Junior as a part of the grieving process of his culture.

His father played football in the NTFL with St Mary's, WAFL with South Fremantle and spent time with Hawthorn after being drafted in 1990, though he was unable to break into the senior side.

Rioli travels home this week to be with family and engage in ceremony.

On his return next week, he'll take back his birth name after fulfilling every element of the ceremony on the anniversary with family.

"My father's ceremony a year on from his burial is so important to our culture," Rioli told portadelaidefc.com.au

"I get my name back…My Mum can stop carrying the pain of a widow."

"Every culture is different. Up there, we have a year of grieving. This is the last week of that year of paying respect to my father and our culture."

"We will dance for a whole day (on Friday). We dance and cry. It will bring back good memories of how Dad was so inspirational to a lot of people.

"A lot of people from all the different cultures back home will dance for Dad. Every family tribe has different dancing. It is their way of showing their respect."

"My Mum can stop wearing black. She has done that for a whole year. She has had to have short hair. She was not allowed to shower by the traditions we have up there.

"By our culture, after this ceremony I get my name back. That is the good part of it."

Rioli served a two-year ban from football after tampering with a urine sample in 2019.

The mercurial forward said in 2022, as he prepared his return to football with his former club, his father offered a piece of advice he continues to carry out in life.

"Just be a better person," Rioli said his date told him.

"That is from the last conversation I had with Dad at the time I was going back to West Coast"

"He said, 'Son, we all make mistakes. Look in the mirror and be a better person'.

"That is the best advice my father could give me, along with the reminder to treat people as you want to be treated, no matter how popular you are. That is something my Dad -my whole family, taught me.

"Dad would say, 'No matter who you are, no matter where you stand in life, never treat anyone different to how you want to be treated.'"

"So that is how I live."

Rioli similarly missed Port's round 16 win against Essendon for personal reasons.

Having to miss a funeral ahead of his return to face Gold Coast at the weekend, Rioli celebrated a goal with a 'sailing boat' dance in respect to his family in the Tiwi and islands up north.