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{xtypo_dropcap}T{/xtypo_dropcap}he 1980 VFL Grand Final between Richmond and Collingwood was notable for the performance of Tigers rover Kevin Bartlett, whose seven goals led the way to a resounding eighty one point victory by Richmond. 

Played in front of a crowd of 113,461 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, it was a memorable day for a twenty year old from Sandy Bay in Tasmania. “It was a terrific experience, made even better by the presence of another Tasmanian, Michael Roach, and to share it with blokes of the calibre of Francis Bourke and Bartlett was something special,” Stephen Mount reminisced.  

After having to sit out the first half of the season with an injury, Mount was selected in the grand final line up,  made an impressive contribution with fifteen possessions and three marks, and appeared set for a lengthy VFL career.

The Tasmanian would have plenty of reasons to savour that match, because nothing went right for him over the following two seasons. Out for much of 1981 and most of 1982 with injury problems, he surprised the Richmond club and it’s supporters by deciding to move West in 1983.

“I wasn’t travelling too flash,” he reflected. “I hadn’t reset my goals well, things weren’t happening because of frustrating injuries, I was a bit perturbed about things happening at the club with player movement and coaches sackings, and decided I’d look at a University course in physical education. The University of Western Australia offered the best opportunity for that, and I saw a move interstate as education through football with a bit less pressure.”   

The Tigers had recruited Stephen Mount from Sandy Bay, near Hobart, where he was an outstanding junior, and premiership player under former Richmond star Paul Sproule as a seventeen year old in 1975, playing at full forward in the grand final. The Tasmanian factor at Richmond over the years, most notably Sproule, Royce Hart, and Ian Stewart, had a big influence in Mount’s signing with the club.

South Fremantle general manager Harold Harper was quick to make contact after Stephen’s decision to move to Perth, where the Richmond and Tasmanian connection was maintained with the presence of coach Mal Brown and captain Noel Carter at the Bulldogs.

Mount quickly adapted to the local conditions, and enjoyed his football at South. Forced to lose some weight to suit a more mobile game on the drier grounds, he found a nice balance between life and football. Playing at centre half forward and centre half back, he blended in nicely with a team that appeared set for premiership glory running into the finals. Finishing on top of the ladder, South Fremantle lost to Claremont by twenty one points in the second semi final, when they booted fourteen goals twenty six behinds, then were well beaten the following week by the rampaging Swan Districts.

In 1985, Mount had a severe attack of whooping cough, which robbed him of much energy for a large chunk of the season. Spending many weeks out, the failure of the league side to make the finals saw him qualify to play with the reserves, captaining them to a grand final win.

The defection of Brown to Perth followed by Don Haddow’s appointment as replacement coach at South resulted in Stephen Mount quitting the game, albeit temporarily. A phone call from his old mentor changed his mind, and he transferred to the Demons, where he was to play some of his best football. “Brownie had that infectious way about him that endeared him to his players,” Stephen said. “He’d admonish people but could also make them laugh, he was personality plus.”

“One of his sayings to me was: “Is the moon in the right place today, Steve?”

“A classic was the day that Dean and Brett Farmer had their infamous stouch with the umpires. Brownie stalked out onto the ground and gave Peter Murnane an almighty shove for daring to offer a comment on the situation, and responded to a television bloke’s interview request by grabbing his microphone and stomping on it.”   

Mount recalled the occasion he was headed for the tribunal for a contact on East Fremantle’s David Bushell. “He’d been in his normal sledging form, and I’d given him a shove and told him to shut up, which was reported as a hit. Brownie was adamant that I should plead not guilty, but on the night I admitted guilt and asked for exonerating circumstances. I got off with a reprimand.”

Mount’s good form with Perth led to his inclusion in the Western Australian side for the match against South Australia at Football Park in Adelaide under lights on May 24, 1988. The home side won by forty points.

Returning closer to home after finishing his Uni commitments, Stephen coached New South Wales South Coast club Narooma Lions in 1989, before taking up a teaching job in Melbourne, where he played for Amateur club Collegians, and was part of a flag in 1992.  He then travelled overseas for a year, resuming with Collegians in 1994 before retiring from the game in 1996, although he did line up with the Saints over thirty fives.

Mount’s involvement with football continues, with thirty three years and still counting of juniors coaching under his belt. He is at present coaching St Kevins school(where he is a teacher) under nines, and is forward coach of the school’s first eighteen, who have former Melbourne player Rod Grinter as mentor. He has three boys and two girls all playing the game, with daughter Emily part of an under twelve premiership last season, son Danny also boasting a flag with his junior side, Jamie and Oliver set to join in, and another daughter, Jessie, making her mark in tennis. “The weekends are completely taken up with kids sport.”

Footscray and Fitzroy player Bernie Quinlan was Stephen’s pick as hardest to beat. “He was a hard man to beat and one you couldn’t give a kick to, because he’d hurt you.  One day he took a chest mark just wide of the centre square, and I thought, “he won’t go all the way from there.”  The ball sailed high and long, the further it went the worse I felt, as it went through at goal post height.”  Despite having played with some champions of the game at Richmond, Mount went for a South Fremantle player as best he’d played with. “Benny Vigona,” he said. “Benny had so much talent, in the skills department he was just ahead of Rioli and Raines.”

“I enjoyed playing with many great personalities of the game,” he said. “Neil Randall and Paul Vasoli were unique characters, and listening to Gerard Neesham was an education.”

A high leaping and marking player with plenty of endurance and flexibility,Stephen Mount played forty eight games with the Demons and forty two for the Bulldogs to add to his thirty one at Richmond. A fine centre half forward, he is particularly well remembered by football fans in Western Australia.

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