Western Bulldogs defender Bailey Dale is eager to move past the Willie Rioli saga after the Port Adelaide forward sent a threatening private message about him.

Rioli has apologised for sending a message, hinting at potential trouble in Darwin this weekend, to one of Dale’s teammates, a day after the Bulldogs thrashed the Power in Ballarat.

No further action will be taken by the AFL after the incident was referred directly to the league.

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Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said Dale was “OK”, but was keen to put the matter behind him.

“It’s just one of those things where you wake up and all of a sudden you’re part of a storyline, and you didn’t think you would be, and the quicker it’s in the rear-vision mirror, the better for him,” Beveridge said on Tuesday.

The Bulldogs face Gold Coast this Saturday night in Darwin.

Rioli’s message to the unnamed Bulldogs player was to say he had friends in Darwin and Dale should be careful about leaving the team hotel while staying in the Northern Territory capital.

Caroline Wilson reported on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters that Rioli was “read the riot act” by Port Adelaide.

But the AFL letting him off with only a warning has prompted criticism from various former players and pundits.

The league put out a brief statement, saying it had “reminded both clubs to ensure any communications remain respectful”.

The Agenda Setters panel member Nick Riewoldt said the inconsistency after a spate of match bans handed out for non-football or off-field incidents was “mind-boggling”, an issue that also raised the ire of Essendon triple premiership player Tim Watson.

“OK, Willie Rioli reaches out and apologises to Bailey Dale. Everyone apologises once they’ve been caught out, that’s just standard behaviour of human beings. You just apologise,” he said on SEN.

“That doesn’t mean to say it can just be swept under the carpet and there not be any form of penalty or discipline applied. I am staggered that they allowed that to be their course of action.”

But Beveridge said he was “not surprised” the AFL had not sanctioned the West Coast premiership player.

“Obviously Willie’s made a mistake. He’ll learn from it, and we’re all OK with that,” he said.

“Discretion there is important, and I think that’s how both clubs are treating it.

“Let’s just learn from it and move on and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Port responded to the incident on Monday night, saying the “matter has now been resolved privately”.

Rioli can accept a $1000 fine for striking Dale off the ball in the third term of Saturday’s match.

Along with the private message, Rioli also posted on Instagram, expressing his frustration about being financially penalised.

Last month Rioli posted on Instagram after Port’s emotion-charged win over Hawthorn.

Rioli spoke of his hatred for the Hawks, and the backlash prompted him to briefly take leave from the club.

- with 7NEWS