'Why I came home': SANFL talent back where football career started

Family, the farm and his church are key focuses for the Penshurst recruit.

Rentsch, 20, was announced as the Mininera and District league club's prized off-season signing on Wednesday, November 8.

His return follows a two-year stint in Adelaide where he played for SANFL club Sturt.

He also had a decorated Coates Talent League as a teenager, winning the Morrish Medal after a standout top-age season for GWV Rebels where he earned Vic Country honours.

The key forward - he stands an imposing 197 centimetres - had harboured ambitions of playing at the highest level and was considered a chance to be snapped up in the 2021 AFL draft.

Rentsch has not ruled out pursing higher levels of football again in the future.

"I'm keen to have this year at Penshurst and see where it goes from there," he said.

"We'll see what happens in the next couple of years or so."

But he felt the time was right to rejoin the club which kick-started his passion for the game.

"I am very excited to come home. I am keen to be around family and friends again," he told The Standard.

"I knew it wasn't going to be a long-term thing going to Sturt. I sort of thought two or three years would probably be what I was looking at.

"I realise I am pretty young but I have been fortunate enough to grow up playing with most of these boys here (at Penshurst) and I know them pretty well so I am hoping to have a really good impact on us as a team.

"I am very excited to see where we can go with the list we've got."

Rentsch worked for an automotive business during his two years in South Australia.

But he is already back where he's most comfortable - shearing sheep on his family's Penshurst farm and helping with his Hamilton Lutheran Church congregation.

He has landed part-time work with the church as a lay leader and wants to be a role model for those around him.

"I am keen to work with people in the congregation, mostly the youth," Rentsch said.

"It will be a good opportunity to serve a bit more, not only in the congregation but in the wider community as well.

"It is something I am pretty keen on doing in the future as well and that will play a factor (in my decisions) moving forward."

Rentsch - one of seven siblings - will work as an assistant coach at Penshurst, learning from mentor Jayden Watson.

Watson came through the ranks at the Bombers too but spent time away at Hampden league powerhouse Koroit where he became a premiership player.

"He is a little bit older than me. I reckon we might have crossed paths one season in the under 16s - I might have been year four or five and he would've been well and truly top age," Rentsch said.

"He is a very personable person and he's a good leader too. I watched a few (Penshurst senior) games this year and with such a young side, he's done very well."

Rentsch, whose dad James is a three-time Penshurst premiership ruckman, has his own experiences to call on.

He was grateful for the experiences afforded to him at Sturt.

"I was very blessed to have that. They have given me a great opportunity over there to play some high-quality football," Rentsch said.

"It was a bit sad moving on. It was a very good experience to have under my belt, especially in terms of learning how a professional team functions."

Rentsch played with and against AFL-calibre players in the SANFL including a newly-crowned Collingwood premiership footballer.

"I debuted against Billy Frampton against Adelaide (when he was at the Crows) and he might had a pretty good game against me. I guess that's one I will remember," he said with a laugh.

"He's done pretty well for himself."