“I’m excited and relieved that’s its all done. It took a little bit longer than we probably thought to get done but very excited to be staying at St Kilda another two years. The club’s been good to me and I never wanted to go anywhere else so happy that it’s finally done,” he said.
The 28-year-old is regarded as one of the competition’s premier running midfielders, playing in an exciting era for St Kilda.
He credits a core group of his teammates for the Saints success in recent years.
“Certainly I’m proud of where, not only myself, but the group of us that got drafted together have been able to take the club. When I got to the club in 2002 we were sort of on its knees, we hadn’t won many games for a few years and were down the bottom of the ladder and for us to get the club where we’ve been able to and play finals for successive years and play in a few grand finals and that memory of getting the club to that level of success and giving something back to the members and supporters is something that I’m most proud of.”
Earlier this year, Montagna was inducted as a life member of the club and is passionate about remaining a one-club player.
“To be a life member of this footy club, as I said on the night, is something I’m very proud of. To know that for the rest of my life I’m going to be a member of this club, I’m always going to be welcomed back and feel a part of it.”
He says there’s something special about running out in the red, white and black each week with his teammates and is looking forward to setting the foundations for a successful future.
“It always just had that footy club feel and it was always about football and trying to win games and building a really strong team. For me, that was always what I’ve enjoyed about football is really just, working together with your mates and it didn’t matter where we were, or the facilities, the grounds or the situation its just about playing together.”
