Retiring St Kilda great Leigh Montagna believes young rebounding defender Brandon White has the attributes to replace him across half-back in 2018 and beyond.
After making his debut in the final round of 2016, White was forced to bide his time at Sandringham this year before earning another opportunity in Round 19, where he thrived at Adelaide Oval and showed signs of his class in three senior appearances.
Montagna, who announced his decision to retire this week after 16 years in the AFL, said one of the reasons behind his decision was to allow younger players like White more opportunity to flourish.
“Probably part of the reason I moved on is I think Brandon White is going to be a terrific half-back,” Montagna told Melbourne radio station RSN on Thursday.
“He’s got a lot of good attributes; he’s courageous; he’s got a good intercept mark and a beautiful kick on him.
“So probably him and Jimmy Webster, as they gain a bit more confidence, they can set us up in the back half.”
With champion key forward Nick Riewoldt also finishing his career in recent days, Montagna is looking forward to watching emerging spearhead Paddy McCartin take the next step in his career and put his run of bad luck behind him.
“Paddy McCartin is the one that hopefully we can see a lot more of,” Montagna said.
“He’s a great kid and he’s doing all the right things, he’s just had a bit of bad luck, he’s just trying to find his niche.
“He’s the one I’m looking forward to
On the back of Sean Dempster’s retirement at the start of the season, St Kilda has lost 845 games in experience this season, with the winds of change sweeping through Linen House Centre.
