No rhetticence about Montgomerie.
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Hope he never goes full Rhettā¦
This a rhettorical question?
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Great article - could be a good pick up - but he has grown since he was measured at the SA state combine in Ocotber at 187 cm
Smells of McDonugh type pick
āOver the moonā: Bombers make Montgomerieās AFL dream come true
JORDON HUDSON 06/12/2022
Essendon draftee Rhett Montgomerie has had āa crazy four or five daysā after having his AFL dream realised following his rookie draft selection by the Bombers.
āItās definitely sunk in now that Iām hereā the mature age prospect revealed of his AFL opportunity in an exclusive chat with The Inner Sanctum.
Montgomerie played 21 games for Central District in the SANFL this season following some tough times in the lead-up to his eventual selection by the Bombers.
When asked what kept him motivated after missing out in previous drafts Montgomerie said: āalong with not getting drafted, I didnāt even make any state teams as a junior at all, no 16s, 17s, 18sā.
āI saw a lot of my mates getting picked up in front of me and it was pretty tough to watch so I guess that gave me the drive and Iām determined just to prove people wrong
āI just love my footy, I always have, so itās always been my dream so I didnāt give up.ā
At 190cm, Montgomerie played as a key defender this season, using his height to take strong intercept marks.
āAt Centrals in SA, I was more playing on the tall forwards but obviously I know when I come here Iām going to be playing on more medium forwards, talls and smalls as well, so definitely going to be looking at a third or fourth tall role in whatever grade that is,ā he said of his role in the side.
Speaking on his learnings in the SANFL this season, Montgomerie labelled it āthe best comp outside of the AFLā with āa lot of good playersā, as he prided himself on being āreally professionalā and ātraining really hard with intensity.ā
While the 22-year-old did meet with Essendon, he wasnāt expecting to be taken by the club.
āI had a zoom call with them a few weeks out from the draft and thought obviously they are keen, we didnāt really talk ever until the rookie draft in the afternoon and he (Rob Forster-Knight) kind of rang me a bit before and hinted that they might take me,ā Montgomerie said.
āI wasnāt fully confident if it would be here.ā
Montgomerie said he was excited by Essendonās successful history of mature-age recruits such as Nic Martin and Massimo DāAmbrosio.
āThat definitely excites me that they saw that I was like that and can be beneficial for the club and so those lads have definitely really inspired me,ā he said.
Rhett Montgomerie at the NEC Hangar for day one of preseason. Image: Essendon Football Club
When asked which AFL players he bases his game style on, Montgomerie revealed other mature-age prospects such as Tom Stewart and Callum Wilkie were just a few of his inspirations for his game.
āJordan Ridley here is a great player that I admire a lot, I love the way Shannon Hurn goes about it being a Barossa boy as well, and Jeremy McGovern definitely someone Iāve mainly looked up to the way he reads the play,ā he said.
Montgomerie officially began pre-season training on Monday alongside the other Essendon draftees and the entire senior playing group under new coach Brad Scott.
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He looked very good at training today I thought.
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Can we agree on Monty as his nickname?
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Mr Burns
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Monty took his own advice, and shaved those sideburns.
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Third tall defender, maybe, but he marks the ball like a KPF.
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We have unearthed a gem. Getting on his band wagon here and now.
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Except he is a rookie so no great issue.
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Nope, looks like a real defender with a bit of a Howe leap. Judges very well and takes good options hand and foot with little fuss. As ever it will remain to be seen if he can mix it up at the AFL pace of things
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āMy family is stoked for me, they know footy was my dream and that I went for Essendon.ā
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Kyle Hardingham vibes?
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Hopefully heās more of a Baguley/Hibberd type mature age defender.
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I said a couple of weeks l am firmly on his bandwagon. Make no mistake about him succeeding, this guy is a Monty!
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