View source for Peter Motley

{{short description|Australian rules footballer, born 1964}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Peter Motley
| image = 
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1964|9|24|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Adelaide]], [[South Australia]]
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| draftpick = No. 6, [[1982 VFL draft|1982 interstate draft]]<!--do not capitalise draft or interstate draft per 1982 AFL draft article title and the Wikipedia manual of style-->
| debutdate = Round 2, 1986
| debutteam = {{AFL Car}}
| debutopponent = {{AFL Ric}}
| debutstadium = [[Princes Park (stadium)|Princes Park]]
| height = <!-- ### cm -->
| weight = <!-- ### kg -->
| position = 
| statsend = 1987
| years1 = 1982–1985
| club1 = [[Sturt Football Club|Sturt]] ([[South Australian National Football League|SANFL]])
| games_goals1 = 92 (104)
| years2 = 1986–1987
| club2 = [[Carlton Football Club|Carlton]] ([[Australian Football League|VFL]])
| games_goals2 = 19 (4)<ref name=encyc>{{Ref AFL Encyc|5th|519}}</ref>
| games_goalstotal = 111 (108)
| careerhighlights = *[[Sturt Football Club|Sturt]] Best and Fairest 1984, 1985
*[[Fos Williams Medal]]list 1985 [[South Australia Australian rules football team|SA]] v [[Victoria Australian rules football team|Vic]] at [[Football Park]]
*[[All Australian]] 1983, 1985
*[[Sturt Football Club|Sturt]] Team of The Century - [[Centre line (football)|Wing]]
* [[South Australian Football Hall of Fame]] Inductee 2019
}}

'''Peter Motley''' (born 24 September 1964 in [[Adelaide]], [[South Australia]]) is a former professional [[Australian rules football]]er, representing [[Sturt Football Club]] in the [[South Australian National Football League]] (SANFL) and [[Carlton Football Club]] in the [[Australian Football League|Victorian Football League]] (VFL).<ref name="encyc"/>

Motley is the son of former nine-time [[Port Adelaide Football Club|Port Adelaide]] premiership star, 1964 [[Magarey Medal]] winner [[Geof Motley]] and [[Gaynor Flanagan|Gaynor]], who represented Australia in netball and basketball and played state [[softball]].<ref name="Fox" /> He made his league debut for Sturt in 1982 and played 92 games for the Double Blues until 1985. Motley's breakout season was 1983 when he played both at [[centre half-forward]] and [[centre half-back]] for Sturt and helped them to the SANFL Grand Final against [[West Adelaide Football Club|West Adelaide]]. Unfortunately for Motley and Sturt, the Double Blues went down to West Adelaide 16.12 (108) to 21.16 (142).

At only 18 years of age Peter Motley also made the first of six [[Interstate matches in Australian Football|state games]] for South Australia at half-forward against [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] at [[Football Park]] in 1983 in what was the Croweaters first win over the Big V in Adelaide since 1965. Motley also won Sturt's Best and Fairest awards in 1984 and 1985 and was named an [[All-Australian team|All-Australian]] in 1983 and 1985.

Recruited by Carlton, Motley played 19 matches for the Blues. He made his VFL debut in Round 2 of the [[1986 VFL season]] against [[Richmond Football Club|Richmond]] at [[Princes Park (stadium)|Princes Park]] and went on to play 13 games that year for the Blues, including the [[1986 VFL Grand Final|Grand Final]] loss to [[Hawthorn Football Club|Hawthorn]]. Motley played in six games of the [[1987 VFL season|1987 season]] before a serious car crash ended his football career at the age of just 22.<ref name=encyc/>

In early May 1987, while driving along a divided road, another car careered across the median strip and collided directly with Motley's driver's door at head height. Teammate [[Paul Meldrum]] was driving directly behind and was a lesser victim of the crash. All three cars were destroyed. A medical practitioner who lived in the immediate vicinity attended to Motley's critical head injury, almost certainly saving his life before an ambulance arrived. Motley endured several days in a coma; his survival and recovery has been attributed to his mental determination, physical fitness, and encouragement from his family.<ref name="Fox">{{cite AV media | people=Jason Bennett | title=2010 Fox Footy Headliners - Peter Motley | medium=Television production | publisher=Fox Footy | date=2010 | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIoXx8QFGIY | access-date=10 September 2020}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead Youtube links|date=February 2022}}</ref>

In 1987, a song called "Peter Motley" by Gary Burrows was written in support of his recovery; proceeds from the single were given to a trust to help cover Motley's medical expenses.<ref>{{Citation |title=Peter Motley Tribute Song - Gary Burrows 1987 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFrqcygaKt8 |language=en |access-date=2022-05-26}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Gary Burrows - Peter Motley |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/5376001-Gary-Burrows-Peter-Motley |language=en |access-date=2022-05-26}}</ref>

Such was Motley's impact in his 95 games for Sturt between 1982 and 1985 that he was named on the wing in Sturt's Team of the Century.

In 2015, [[Unley Oval]], the home ground of the Sturt Football Club, was renamed '''Peter Motley Oval''' in his honour.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{1983 All-Australian team}}
{{1985 All-Australian team}}
{{1983 South Australia State of Origin players}}
{{1984 South Australia State of Origin players}}
{{1982 VFL interstate draft}}
{{Fos Williams Medal winners}}
{{Sturt Team of The Century}}
{{P.T. Morton Medal}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Motley, Peter}}
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Adelaide]]
[[Category:Sturt Football Club players]]
[[Category:Carlton Football Club players]]
[[Category:South Australian State of Origin players]]
[[Category:All-Australians (1953–1988)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Australia international rules football team players]]
[[Category:South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees]]