The chunky midfielder started his football career with East Fremantle. He played in the 1997 premiership with the Crows before being traded to the Eagles for a draft selection (Brodie Atkinson) at the end of the 1998 season. Rintoul had been an emergency for the 1998 Grand Final. In his first season with the Eagles he played all 24 games including one stunning 36 possession effort against his old club, Adelaide. His ability to crash through packs was a positive force early in the year. Rintoul was surprisingly delisted by West Coast. He had originally planned to move to Victoria Park in 1998 along with Clay Sampson, but Sampson reneged and the deal fell through. He linked up with Malthouse to add muscle to a skinny side, but then broke his leg.