The Saints have been criticised for their lack of fast midfielders but Montagna, regarded as one of the few genuinely quick players at Moorabbin, disagrees.
"We’ve got a lot of blokes who are really quick over 20 metres," he told saints.com.au. "Jason Gram is lightning, Nick Dal Santo is surprisingly one of our quickest over five to 20m. He’s got speed off the mark.
"Luke Ball is quick over 100m and guys like Adam Schneider and Sean Dempster, who have just come to the club, are really quick. One of the big misinterpretations about the club is that we don’t have enough pace."
Montagna and Lenny Hayes have been leading the Saints’ midfield this year, but the 24-year-old says everyone in the middle has been prepared to do the heavy lifting.
"We’re very lucky in that we’ve got some experienced, talented players in there. We’ve got Lenny Hayes, Luke Ball and Robert Harvey in there. They’ve all captained the club and there’s also Nick Dal Santo," he noted.
"We’ve all got something to contribute in there and we’re working hard to make sure we’ve got the right mix to help the team."
Montagna saved special praise for Harvey, saying media criticism of the veteran was unwarranted.
"The people that made the comments on Harves in the pre-season are eating a bit of humble pie now. He’s been one of our most consistent players this year and without him we would be in a worse position," he said.
Harvey has confirmed 2008 will be his last year, meaning the club's next generation of midfielders will need to shoulder the expectations that come with wearing the red, white and black.
They're expectations that don’t bother Montagna, as the players strive to bring that elusive second premiership cup to Moorabbin.
"It’s been like that for a few years now," he said. "It’s not for the players to say if it’s too much, but it is the media’s input and we just worry about what we’re doing."
