A lightly-built defender who consistently held his own against many of the VFL's best forwards, Rantall was an inaugural inductee into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996. He is a member of both the North Melbourne and Swans Team of the Century.
Playing career
Originally from Cobden, Rantall moved to the South Melbourne Football Club, where he debuted in 1963.
He quickly became recognised as one of the VFL's most dependable and consistent defenders, and when South Melbourne's champion rover and captain Bob Skilton tore an achilles tendon before the 1969 VFL season, Rantall stood in as acting captain,[1] eventually taking over as official captain after Skilton retired in 1971.
In 1973, he moved to North Melbourne Football Club under the VFL's short-lived "10-year rule", which allowed players with ten years' service at one club to move to another club without a clearance,[2] with the intention of playing in a premiership side. He got his wish, winning in 1975; and, then, moving back to South Melbourne for 1976. A reliable defender who worked tirelessly to repel opposition attacks, Rantall had magnificent skills.
Sadly, Rantall's career at South Melbourne came to a bitter end, despite being the club's games record holder.
He moved to Fitzroy for one last season in 1980, where he played 6 games and broke Kevin Murray's VFL games record.
Life after Playing
After the South Melbourne Football Club relocated to Sydney, Rantall became a much-loved and respected football pioneer in Queensland and New South Wales, which included a coaching stint in Brisbane, time on the board of AFL North Coast (NSW), and a junior coaching role with the Swans Academy in that region.[3]
In January 2014, Rantall moved back to country Victoria, wanting to be close to his two brothers. He settled in Noorat, about 30 kilometres from his hometown, Cobden.[3]
^The 10-year rule was introduced by the VFL in August 1972, in order to render it immune from the sorts of "restraint of trade" difficulties that were being experienced, at the time, in New South Wales in relation to Rugby League footballers. Although twenty-two VFL players were eligible under the rule, only George Bisset, Barry Davis, Carl Ditterich, Rantall, Adrian Gallagher, and Doug Wade, took advantage of it — transferring to Collingwood, North Melbourne, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Footscray, and North Melbourne (respectively). The rule was rescinded in May 1973.
Victoria (VFL) 16.18 (114) defeated South Australia 12.12 (84), at MCG, 12 June 1971, crowd: 66,893 Victoria (VFL) 18.16 (124) defeated Western Australia 14.8 (92), at Subiaco Oval, 17 July 1971, crowd:
