Speaking to the media in the lead up to his 200th game, Montagna stated the Saints have their own backyards to worry about and won’t be using the Roos’ fadeouts as inspiration or motivation.
“I don’t think it’ll be specifically mentioned, anyone that’s followed the footy probably understands that there’s that perception but I don’t think it’ll be a certain tactic that we’ll be too focused on…” he said.
Brad Scott was the first to suggest his players lacked the mental strength to withstand pressure after the loss to Adelaide.
Scott’s statement was backed up by captain Andrew Swallow on Monday but Montagna believes if the Saints are a chance to win, it’ll only be because of hard work.
“…we’ll worry about our own football and hopefully we are in the game at three quarter time and give ourselves a chance of winning but that’ll come off the back of our good football, we can’t worry about what the Kangaroos are gonna produce.”
Montagna will share his milestone game with Brent Harvey who plays his 350th and Daniel Wells who runs out for the 200th time.
North Melbourne conducted an intense, old-fashioned training session on Tuesday at Aegis Park and the players were told to bring their mouthguards. The group participated in full ground match simulation and boxing.
