Peter Motley
Peter Motley is a former professional Australian rules footballer, representing Sturt Football Club in the South Australian National Football League and Carlton Football Club in the Victorian Football League.
Motley, the son of former Port Adelaide premiership star Geof Motley, 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. Unfortunately for Motley and Sturt the Double Blues went down to West Adelaide 16.12 to 21.16.
At only 18 years of age Peter Motley also made the first of six state games for South Australia at half-forward against 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 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 at Princes Park and went on to play 13 games that year for the Blues, including the Grand Final defeat against Hawthorn. Motley played in six games of the 1987 season before a serious car crash ended his football career at the age of just 22.
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.
