One of the most celebrated players in Sunshine Heights’ football history has reached his 400 games milestone.
Robbie Greto has devoted his sporting life to the Dragons, starting out as a junior to now leading the club as player-coach.
Greto was lauded for his years of service and commitment to the club before Saturday’s loss to Wyndham Suns in division 3 of the Western Region Football League at Goddard Street Reserve.
“Robbie started here in under-10s and come through the ranks to play seniors,” Heights president Vince Sposato told Star Weekly.
“His record speaks for itself.”
Greto is the heart and soul of Sunshine Heights and his impact on the club has never been more significant than recent times.
With the club struggling for traction in a tough marketplace, the Heights turned to Greto to steady the ship.
Amid the losses and subsequent relegation in division 2, Greto stuck by the Heights and pushed it in the right direction.
Sure, the Heights are now in division 3, but there is a breath of fresh air in the place.
“As the club president, I’m so lucky to have him as the coach because good coaches don’t come easy,” Sposato said.
“It makes the club a better place when you’ve got someone in charge who knows how the place works.
“You can get coaches in who don’t know how the football club runs and they can be a burden.
“But Robbie knows what makes the place tick. He has worked hard together with me the last couple of years because it’s been a pretty tough time for the club but we’re slowly getting up on our feet.
“I owe a lot to him for our improvement.”
Greto is a life member at Sunshine Heights.
The forward has booted 100 goals in a season and captained the Heights to a premiership.
And while his on-field achievements are admired at Ainsworth Reserve, it’s his demeanour at training and on game day that endears himself to the Heights family.
“He’s a high-quality bloke,” Sposato said.
“He’s a family man and he’s well respected by his peers.
“I don’t think he’s got an enemy.”
Greto is all about the Heights, shunning the ‘look at me’ attitude of modern day sports people.
Request for a one-on-one interview with this newspaper and the WRFL website were denied because he did not want to make a fuss about the 400th.
Sposato was not going to let such a great clubman miss out on his chance to be recognised for his dedication.
“He doesn’t like the limelight – he’s a very low-key bloke,” Sposato said.
“When you play 400 games, you need to be recognised for your efforts over so many years.”
Lance Jenkinson
