Rino Pretto

Rino Pretto
Personal information
Full name	Rino Pretto
Nickname(s)	Moose[1]
Date of birth	13 June 1959
Original team(s)	Bulleen-Templestowe
Height/Weight	188 cm / 89 kg
Position(s)	Full-forward, full-back
Playing career^1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1978–1979 1980, 1982–83 1981 1984–1992 1992–1994 VFA total Total	VFL Fitzroy VFA Camberwell Coburg Oakleigh Dandenong	1 (1) 24 (9) 10 (3) 142 (874) 47 (209) 223 (1095) 224 (1096)
^1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1994 season.

Rino Pretto (born 13 June 1959) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for various clubs in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) and with Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

After serving his apprenticeship as a full-back in the Fitzroy under-19s and reserves, Pretto finally made his senior debut late in the 1978 VFL season. The game, which took place at VFL Park, was won by Carlton who were celebrating Rod Ashman's 100th league appearance. Pretto kicked a goal with his only kick and found himself back in the reserves the following weekend and for the entire 1979 season.

Pretto joined the VFA in 1980 and played initially at Camberwell. He was loaned to Coburg in 1981, then returned to Camberwell for the 1982 and 1983 seasons.^[2] He was still known as a full-back at this time, but his talent as a full-forward was discovered after he kicked eight goals when filling in for an injured full-forward at Camberwell.

In 1984, he transferred to Oakleigh, and was used as a regular full-forward there. Oakleigh played in the Second Division of the VFA and Pretto was the division's leading goal-kicker on four occasions (1985–88), with his highest total in 1985 when he kicked 170 goals. In the Grand Final that year he kicked 12 goals despite playing on the losing team. His best performance in a game was in 1986 when he kicked 20 against Mordialloc, despite feeling so ill during the game that he spent the next week in hospital with a diabetic condition.^[3]

In 1989 Pretto was full-forward for the VFA's representative team which won the NFL Shield. The VFA defeated the Australian Amateurs in the final and Pretto kicked 12 goals, which is still the record number of goals in a representative match by a VFA player.

Pretto started the 1992 season with Oakleigh, but transferred to Dandenong after two rounds.^[4] He played his final three seasons with Dandenong, and topped the Association's goal-kicking with 87 goals in 1994. When he eventually retired, the VFA interstate football representative had kicked 1095 goals, a tally only bettered by Fred Cook.

References

1. Hugo Kelly (30 August 1986). "How much of Oakleigh is Rino Pretto". The Age (Melbourne, VIC). p. 37.
2. Marc Fiddian (18 March 1982). "Cobras sign ex-Saint". The Age (Melbourne, VIC). p. 32.
3. Hugo Kelly (26 April 1986). "Pretto in hospital with diabetes". The Age (Melbourne, VIC). p. 31.
4. Phil Cleary (3 May 1992). "Promise of close season lifts shadow". The Sunday Age (Sports Liftout) (Melbourne, VIC). p. 19.

• www.HardBallGet.net
• Rino Pretto's statistics from AFL Tables
• Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.