BRENT GODDE: You were born and bred in Oak Park, Melbourne?

RON MONTGOMERY: I made my senior debut for Oak Park as a 15-year-old in 1968.

BG: Not a bad effort?

RM: I was probably a bit lucky and played reserves earlier in the day. Somebody pulled out of the seniors and I got a call-up.

BG: You must have impressed because you joined North Melbourne the following season in 1969?

RM: I was at the Roos for five years. I started off playing in the under-19s before graduating to the reserves by the end of the season. I had a stint as captain of both sides.

BG: In 1971 you thought your form warranted a game in the reserves?

RM: I played on Sam Kekovich in most of the intra-clubs over the pre-season and toweled him up. I suspect he wasn't trying but by the end of it he king hit me in one of the matches. He did apologise to me.

BG: Did you get selected in the reserves for the opening round?

RM: I missed out because all the country boys got a game because the coach wanted to see how good they were. I was picked in the under-19s.

BG: You were fuming at the time?

RM: I wasn't happy. David Craig who is Bob's older brother suggested I should have a run with Wodonga. So I caught the train up to Wodonga and trained, had a few beers and met some of the locals.

BG: Bob Craig is in the O&M Hall of Fame. Who was the better player out of him and David?

RM: I don't think Bob will mind me saying David was the better of the two.

BG: You played a bit of football with David at North Melbourne reserves?

RM: I remember at half-time one day at the MCG we were both playing well. Best-on-ground back then was $10 and pots were 17 cents so it was worth a fair few beers. I suggested to David if either of us got BOG that we go halves.

BG: Did David accept your offer?

RM: David wasn't really interested which came back to haunt him when I pipped him for BOG. After I beat him he had the hide to put his mit out for his share but I wasn't having a bar of that. I often remind him about it and brought it up at his 60th birthday a few years back when I made a speech.

BG: The following season in 1972 you made your VFL/AFL debut for the Roos under coach Brian Dixon?

RM: The coach didn't even tell me I was picked, I found out by listening to Lou Richards, Jack Dyer and Bob Davis on the radio on the Thursday night.

BG: So you had no idea you would get the call-up?

RM: I had a bit of an inkling because if you were a probable for the seniors that week you used to train in a yellow guernsey which I did that week.

BG: What are the memories of your debut?

RM: I had to play on Gary Dempsey who was at Footscray. I got a couple of kicks but it was hardly a memorable debut.

BG: You managed to take out one of your teammates in the opening minutes?

RM: I thought I would try and have a physical presence and lined-up David Thorpe who was picked in the All-Australian side that season. Anyhow I missed him and ended up taking out my teammate in Paul Feltham.

BG: You wouldn't have been too popular at the time?

RM: I suppose you live and learn. But my VFL/AFL career was over before it started basically.

BG: What position did you play?

RM: I played in the centre after a teammate got injured, which I loved. It's a lot easier than chasing a bloke around as a defender.

BG: How do you look back at your time at the elite level?

RM: I'm sure if I knew back then what I knew now I would have played more games. But that's life isn't it?

BG: At the end of the 1972 North Melbourne officials including Ron Barassi and Norm Smith suggested you should spend a year in the VFA?

RM: They thought I had the potential to play at the highest level but needed a full season in the VFA for my development.

BG: Did you take their advice?

RM: Not really, I joined Coburg but lost a bit of interest in training and put on about three stone.

BG: You ended up quitting Coburg?

RM: I was seen in the Sandringham social club on the Saturday night and we were playing the following day. I got dropped to the bench even though I wasn't drinking.

BG: How did you react to the news?

RM: I wasn't happy and told the club where to go and headed bush.

BG: You had a stint at Kennington in the Bendigo league before joining Wodonga?

RM: I only had one season at Wodonga in 1974 and played about 10 matches due to work commitments.

BG: What was your connection to Wodonga.

RM: Mainly through David and Bob Craig who I had known previously. I also knew Vin Doolan during my time at the Kangaroos but Vin was coach of Rutherglen that season.

BG: You travelled from Melbourne to play?

RM: A lot of the time I used to stay with Vin and his family out on their farm.

BG: Mick Bone was coaching Wodonga?

RM: I remember Mick caught a few of the locals including Peter Sharp and the Reynolds brothers. It didn't end well for them.

BG: After deciding against travelling again you had a stint at Epping?

RM: I did a bit of everything in my five years at Epping. I was a player, coach and even had a stint as secretary.

BG: You finished your playing career at Brunswick?

RM: Brunswick was one of the most social clubs that I have been involved with. They still have a reunion every year even though they folded in 1992.

BG: After retiring you had a stint doing match reports on the opposition for North Melbourne under coach John Kennedy?

RM: I used to have to analyse whoever the Kangaroos were playing the following week and write-up a report. I did that on a volunteer basis for a couple of seasons.

BG: In 1990 you joined the Riddell District Football league as general manager?

RM: That was my first appointment as a league manager which I held for six years. It was an honorary position initially before switching to a full-time job.

BG: You remained as a forward talent scout for North Melbourne?

RM: I remember I made the trip to Lavington to watch the 1995 grand final between Wodonga and Albury. There was a young forward from Wodonga who was turning plenty of heads.

BG: Who might that have been?

RM: A young Daniel Bradshaw.

BG: Did Bradshaw impress?

RM: I didn't get to see much of him. Wodonga coach Ernie Whitehead made the tough call to drop him on the day of the grand final when it rained and it didn't look to be a day for high-marking forwards.

BG: So you didn't see him play at all?

RM: I got to the match during the last quarter of the reserves and saw him play about 10 minutes.

BG: Obviously a big call at the time by Ernie?

RM: Wodonga got rolled by Albury in a tight contest so could Bradshaw have been the difference? Maybe he could have when you consider how good a career he ended up having. But that's the beauty of hindsight I guess.

BG: You also had a stint as a taxi driver when you were living in Melbourne?

RM: I used to watch North Melbourne most Saturday afternoons and then take a car load of blokes home. The passengers included Glenn Archer, Michael Scoon and Damien Hardwick. They used to be entertaining trips.

BG: You relocated to the Border in 1996 to become the inaugural general manager of the O&M?

RM: The league advertised the position which I applied for and ended up getting the gig.

BG: How did you enjoy the role?

RM: It was a lot different back then compared to now. One of the biggest headaches each season was the clearances which had to be either faxed or mailed through. It was a nightmare to deal with. The worst part was that every club knocked back the initial clearance back then which doubled the workload.

BG: One high-profile player of that era who went on to become a premiership coach waltzed into your office one day with a contract dispute?

RM: The player concerned showed me a copy of his original contract which was a lot different to the contract that had been lodged by the club.

BG: In what way?

RM: The bonuses for meeting certain KPI's had been changed on the contract and vastly in favour of the club concerned.

BG: Was that a common occurrence during that era?

RM: I suspect it was.

BG: You have always been a straight shooter and not afraid to say what is on your mind?

RM: It's probably fair to say I was strong in what I believed. But I was always prepared to listen to somebody's argument and then tell them why they were wrong.

BG: Some of your comments along the journey have landed you in hot water?

RM: Can you be more specific?

BG: A prime example would be when you labelled the Wodonga players 'spastics' when you appeared on The Critic on WIN television?

RM: On that occasion it did. It all stemmed from an argument on who was the best ruckman in the competition at the time. I thought it was Wodonga's Paul Nugent and Leigh Elder thought it was Lavington's Peter Doherty.

BG: What led to your comment?

RM: Leigh's argument was because Lavington was second on the ladder, Doherty must be better because Wodonga were near the bottom. I said 'it's not Nugent's fault that he plays with 15 spastics is it?'

BG: And your comment went to air?

RM: I knew as soon as I said it, I had put my foot in my mouth. They tried to beep out the comment but everybody still knew what I said.

BG: What was the fallout?

RM: Most of the blokes associated with Wodonga were good about it but a few cut up rough. Col McCulloch was president and had a bit of a pot shot at me in the paper but I don't think he was too concerned about it.

BG: Who was right?

RM: If you do your homework I think you will find Nugent was named in the ruck in the Team of the Past 25 years.

BG: It did stick in the minds of the Wodonga players though?

RM: Apparently the next pre-season there were four different groups at training. One group was called 'Fat Ron' and had a picture of me on their training singlets.

BG: How did you take that when you found out?

RM: I forget who told me but I had a laugh and said 'grab one of the training singlets for me if you get the chance.'

BG: You have done a lot of media work including stints on radio and television?

RM: I might have said 'spastics' but I have never sworn while on air or in the presence of my mother. Which is a fair effort considering the people that know me personally know that I swear quite often.

BG: You were a big advocate of inter-league football with lucrative prizemoney up for grabs during the mid 90s.

RM: Basically if you made the grand final and won, it was a good money spinner for the league.

BG: It was a golden era for the league after winning four consecutive Victorian Country Championships.

RM: Tim Sanson often jokes that he kept me in a job for five years.

BG: One of the most controversial incidents during your time at the O&M was when the players were kicked off the bus after an inter-league clash at Geelong?

RM: The boys were a little bit naughty with their celebrations and the bus driver decided to give them the boot at Benalla.

BG: You drove home that day in your car but what are your recollections of events?

RM: I told Neil Mitchell who was on the bus to give me a call when they got back to Albury and I would give him a hand to grab all the gear off the bus.

BG: You soon suspected something was wrong?

RM: I got a phone call from Neil and I thought to myself the bus couldn't be back in Albury yet. Neil said 'Ron we have been thrown off the bus.'

BG: You had to drive back to Benalla to grab a carload?

RM: A funny story was Paul McMaster also called his girlfriend to come and get him and some of the Lavington boys. But in the meantime Tim Sanson who was injured and didn't play turned up so they jumped in the car with him.

BG: Did McMaster's girlfriend turn up?

RM: She did but turns out she got a speeding ticket on the way and then finds out McMaster has gone with 'Timba'. I don't think their relationship lasted long after that.

BG: The Raider boys tried to get a lift with you?

RM: Darren Harris and Scott 'Wobbler' Hedley chucked their gear in my boot and wanted a lift but I told them I was there to take home the older blokes like Les O'Brien and Neil Murray.

BG: You got a scare when you finally got home?

RM: I got out of the car and a bloke jumped out of the bushes with a beanie pulled over his head. It was 'Wobbler'. He had left his bag in my boot and needed his house keys to get inside because he didn't want to wake his missus up.

BG: It didn't take The Border Mail long to get wind of the story?

RM: Apparently one of the reporters was doing police rounds and rang the Benalla Police Station who were only too happy to fill them in on what had occurred.

BG: It was front page news at the time?

RM: Ironically, the championships were sponsored by the Australian Drug Foundation which used the slogan "Booze Less Be Your Best".

BG: Who covered the story?

RM: Your esteemed colleague David 'Johnno' Johnston called me and said 'Ron you owe it to the public to tell them what happened.'

BG: What was your reaction?

RM: The polite version is I said 'Johnno I'm not buying what you are selling, go away.'

BG: You used to live close to 'Johnno' in Wodonga?

RM: 'Johnno' shouldn't drink.

BG: What's he done?

RM: I went to a Christmas party at his house one year and got home about midnight. Anyhow I was woken later in the night by someone in the back yard. I head out there with the cricket bat and this bloke walks towards me and I was about to whack him with the bat before I realise it's 'Johnno' who was with Steven King and had decided they wanted to go for a dip in my pool at 3am.

BG: Darren Harris threatened legal action after the coverage?

RM: I think his name was mentioned as one of the chief offenders and he explored his legal options but I'm not sure of the details.

BG: You found out the chief offenders after a bit of investigating?

RM: The late, great John 'Juice' Kingston got suspended and Michael McGregor from Wodonga.

BG: What did they do wrong?

RM: Basically the driver went for a meal break at Euroa and 'Juice' started flashing the lights on and off and beeping the horn with the bus parked next to some houses. The police were called and gave them a warning.

BG: Things escalated after that?

RM: The boys started singing songs about the bus driver between Euroa and Benalla and he had a gutful and kicked them off.

BG: It was freezing that night?

RM: It must have been close to snowing. It was literally that cold.

BG: You dabbled in talk back radio with Peter Copley?

RM: One of the first callers gave us a spray on air. 'Copley you should be nicknamed showbag because you are full of s**t and Ron, you eat too many pies.' We later found out that it was Jake Kowski having a bit of fun at our expense.

BG: You were a supporter of Wagga Tigers joining the O&M?

RM: I wasn't a fan of the bye when Benalla were in the competition. To get bigger and better as a competition you need to expand and Wagga Tigers would have added another dimension. Ideally I would have liked Turvey Park to join as well.

BG: You had a stint as publican of the Carrier Arms Hotel during the early 2010s.

RM: Wasn't that a good career move?

BG: You generated a bit of controversy in Wodonga when you decided to hire a bikini babe to work in the bottle shop?

RM: For the record, it wasn't my idea but we did try something a bit different.

BG: It generated a bit of publicity at the time?

RM: I was a bit surprised by the backlash, especially from the Wodonga Council.

BG: The old saying is that sex sells. Did the bikini babe pay for her wages?

RM: Sales didn't go through the roof but we certainly had a lot more traffic through the bottle shop.

BG: If you had your time again, would you do the same thing?

RM: As I said, it wasn't my idea and probably not. There were just a few extenuating circumstances that led to the decision at the time that I don't want to get into.

BG: Brock-Burrum wingman Josh McCudden worked for you at the pub?

RM: Josh hated training and Luke Brauer used to ring the pub looking for him. I used to tell Luke that Josh was working late but he had already knocked off.