When he left Swan Districts to play for Maddington in the South Suburban Football Association,  Paul Mountain thought he had left the WAFL behind him for good. He had made just 20 league appearances over a four year stay at Bassendean, after making his debut at the age of eighteen, but it was a hard time to be a rover at the black and whites, with the imposing small man brigade, led by Billy Walker, the club had at the time. Three years and three premierships at Maddington replenished the  onballer’s confidence in his ability, and when the astute South Fremantle coach, Percy Johnson, issued him an invitation to Fremantle Oval, Mountain jumped at the chance.  “Percy Johnson made my career,” was the assertion  Paul made when we spoke  with him. And  Paul is not the only one that we have heard praise of Percy from. Mountain had a Basil Campbell-style introduction to the players at his first night at training. He was taking part in ruck practice, and trying to impress, raced onto a Stephen Michael tap. As he tried to break a tackle, Mountain felt himself being picked up in the air, still with the ball in his grasp, as he was transported to the centre of the ground on the ample hip of Basil Campbell and ceremoniously dumped onto the centre circle. “Welcome to South, Paul,” was the comment of the laughing Campbell.And that was the unusual beginning of a long and fulfilling association with the red and whites. Son of  long serving administrator and highly respected stalwart of the  Swan Districts Football Club, Pat Mountain, Paul Mountain played his junior football at De La Salle  College, which was a good breeding ground for league footballers, with two of Mountain’s teammates in John Hayes and Barry Stockton also graduating  to league careers.  Mountain played in the old fourths competition for Swan Districts in 1969, graduating to the league side in 1970.  He was a tough, tireless rover, and was a team-oriented player.After moving to South, Mountain was a revelation. He became a permanent onball partner with Noel Carter, developing a fruitful understanding with ruckman Stephen Michael, and went on to play 116 games with the Bulldogs.  But, although South were  dominant  in those days with some genuine stars in their line up, he never played in a premiership side. “We should have won more than the one flag with the team we had,” Paul admitted. The only one they won, in 1980, was heartbreak for Mountain. He was injured during the week prior to the grand final, and was unable to take his place in the line up. In a great  show of team spirit, his replacement, Geoff O’Brien, opted to swap his jumper for Mountain’s number 35. O’Brien went on to put in a sizzling performance in the first half, before himself succumbing to injury, giving a sixteen year old Brad Hardie an opportunity to impress, which he did with three goals, in a walkover against  Paul’s old club, Swan Districts. Although rueing the missed opportunities and bad luck that thwarted his premiership dream, Paul Mountain isn’t overly concerned that it didn’t happen. “ After giving up on league footy, I was lucky enough to be  part of a great group of players who are still all mates and get together today, I played in grand finals, I’m grateful for the time I had at South,” was his philosophical comment. After retiring from South Fremantle in 1984, Mountain was persuaded to pull on the boots for West Perth, where he spent one season. He later became involved with the Teal Cup  State under eighteens for most of the nineties.  He named the Krakoeurs from Claremont and Tony Buhagiar (East Fremantle) as his hardest opponents. “But the toughest was another Claremont player, half back Brad Reynolds” he asserted.  As for the best he played with, from his time at Swans he named Walker and Ken Bagley, while South players he added were Michael, Campbell, and Maurice Rioli.Mountain had a special mention for Campbell. “Basil Campbell was a much better player than people gave him credit for. He was more than just a tough man. Campbell was a great player” he said. Knowing that Paul played under Mal Brown, we just couldn’t resist asking for another Brownie story for our collection.  And he was happy to oblige. “Paul Vasoli and I shared a house”. Paul began.  “Brownie would often ring Paul at certain times of the day, and on one occasion the phone rang, and Paul, knowing it would be Mal, answered  in a cultured voice:”Good morning. Paul and Paul aren’t at home just at the moment. If you would like to leave a message, please do it after you hear the beep”...then gave a good imitation of a beep”.Brownie exploded:”Hey Kay, these pair of ^&())$%$%  b$%^  have got themselves a  %^&* answering machine!”   Formerly a schoolteacher, Paul is these days the owner of a Brittains Formal Menswear in Hay Street. He attends South games, plays golf, and enjoys meeting up with old teammates as often as he can.  In his footy days Paul Mountain enjoyed lining blokes up for a hip and shoulder..now  he prefers measuring them up for a new suit.