[Albion](https://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/albion/)’s No.33 stepped up 55 minutes into the new season and unerringly fired them in front against Fulham.
Who takes penalties now Joao Pedro has gone? That was a theme for round one of the Premier League campaign.
There have been practice sessions on the training ground, discussions behind the scenes, analysis and input from set-piece coach Yannick Euvrard.
But the outcome from all that process seemed pretty simple.
The player who successfully took a penalty in the final game of last season was handed the ball in the first game of this campaign.
Perhaps less straightforward this summer have been O’Riley’s role on the pitch and those intermittent reports linking him with Serie A, most recently Juventus.
In that, we hark back to a beautifully warm evening in Marbella about four weeks ago when he had just scored one goal and teed up another in the 2-0 win over UD Las Palmas.
He had explained comments about his preferred position and that sort of play-by-numbers which seems to feature in midfield discussions these days.
Eight or ten. Not a six. That sort of thing.
But it is a bit more flexible and, in the weeks since Spain, O’Riley says things have been amended in certain places to make the collective work.
Now, as Fulham headed away with their point, he told The Argus: “I think there's a little bit more emphasis on me being allowed to come a little bit deeper at times, just when I feel the moment's right.
“That's still something I need to play around with and figure out. But at the same time, I think I'm able to do the job well and help the team.”
Has that been tweaked in pre-season?
“I would say slightly. We've worked on a couple of things, and not just me.
“A few other positions, which are a little bit more fluid now. Hopefully, over time, it continues to get more fluid for everybody.”
That theme of his preferred position and another – of links to his services from Serie A clubs – have come together at times.
That the perceived dis-satisfaction with his role was a reason for him to move.
That felt like a bit of a reach. It felt more like O’Riley had just engaged in some decent football conversation.
Since then, he has spoken again with Hurzeler about the part he plays.
He has certainly been one of the more prominent contributors in pre-season.
Which is worth noting because that area between midfield and the No.9 is one for which the Seagulls have a lot of choices.
O’Riley said on Saturday: “I think he (Hurzeler) has obviously naturally got trust in me just because he's seen the rhythm I've had in pre-season, which is great. That's great for me.
“I also did go up to him in pre-season just to reiterate the fact that I'm here as a Brighton player and I want to help the team as much as possible just because I was aware there was a lot of noise around me and I think that helps just settle the situation in general.”
As was the case (maybe still is for some) with Yasin Ayari generally or Mats Wieffer at right-back, it feels like O’Riley is a player who is still winning some of the fanbase over.
But that trust from the boss is what really counts.
We might find out more about that this weekend with Danny Welbeck seemingly a contender to start as a genuine No.9 at Everton.
If that happens – and it feels like Welbeck is one of those players who is more suited to starting games than to coming on as sub – we will see what happens in other areas just off the frontman.
And we might also see what happens at penalties.