Yapper and the youngster - a study in contrasts
By Chris Lines
MELBOURNE, March 17 AAP - Stephen Milne has always been the type of AFL player who gets noticed. Leigh Montagna has not.
Linked together in rape allegations under investigation by Victorian police, Milne and Montagna are a study in contrasts.
In a time of uber-athletes populating AFL lists, 24-year-old Milne is a fish out of water - a short, shaggy-haired, long-sleeved, cheeky goalsneak.
He worked his way into the AFL the hard way and became a cult hero in the eyes of Saints fans, and an irritating villain among the opposition.
Montagna, 20, is of the same physical dimensions as Milne with a similar eye for goal, but is a more naturally-gifted yet anonymous type who could walk through the outer unrecognised.
Ironically, Montagna only got his breakthrough spell in the St Kilda side late last year because Milne had been exiled to the reserves.
Milne is a close friend of Adam Ramanauskas, Essendon's premiership wingman who missed most of last season after surgery to remove a cancerous growth from his neck.
The pair grew up together playing for Melbourne suburban club Noble Park and then Dandenong in the under-18 TAC Cup.
But while Ramanauskas was picked up in the first round of the 1998 draft, Milne was overlooked.
In an era when clubs were keen on adaptable athletes who were able to play all over the ground, Milne was an unpopular specimen - a specialist forward-pocket goalsneak.
Milne was resigned to playing with VFL club Frankston in 1999, but Ramanauskas continually pestered Essendon recruiting officer Adrian Dodoro to give his mate a chance.
Dodoro relented, asking Milne to play in a practice match against Carlton ahead of the 1999 season, and the youngster impressed by kicking three goals.
The Bombers were set to rookie list Milne but the club was banned from the draft for salary cap breaches.
He played through the year as a top-up player for the Essendon reserves, and starred in the seconds grand final win of 1999, kicking four goals.
Essendon again planned to pick him up in the rookie draft ahead of 2000, but St Kilda swooped with an earlier pick.
Milne was a standout in the St Kilda reserves during 2000, but the financially-stretched Saints could not afford to upgrade him to the senior list until early in the 2001 season.
Milne's talents now had a national stage, and he was a natural in the role of the stereotypical goalsneak, kicking goals hanging off the contest, celebrating extravagantly and mouthing off to opponents.
He possessed an undeniable skill, with his quick stepping and instinctive goal sense adding the dash of excitement that puts bums on seats.
But when his form faltered, such antics wore thin with some, and incoming coach Grant Thomas reportedly told Milne to shape up or ship out.
He took the ultimatum to heart, kicking 50 goals in 2002 and winning a trip to Ireland with the Australian team for the International Rules series.
Milne was alight early in 2003, leading the AFL goalkicking table with 16 goals in the first five games, but he was twice suspended for striking and his form tapered badly.
Milne soon found himself in the twos as the Saints clicked and hit top form late in the season, with Montagna acting as his replacement.
Previously a fringe dweller in the VFL, Montagna played the last eight games of 2003, kicking ten goals, and became a first-choice player as the Saints won five of their last seven games.
But Montagna is largely the forgotten man of St Kilda's youth revolution.
When talk of the Saints' riches of promise arises, it is the names of Nick Riewoldt, Justin Koschitzke, Nick Dal Santo, Brendon Goddard, Luke Ball and the Clarke brothers that crop up.
Montagna was recruited as a speedy goal-kicking wingman from Melbourne suburban club Balwyn via the Northern Knights TAC Cup team, drafted in the third round.
