Peter Motley is a former professional Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er, playing for Sturt Football Club

Sturt Football Club

Sturt Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League. The club is best known for its period of dominance from 1966–76 under legendary coach Jack Oatey, during which it revolutionised the style of play by emphasising teamwork and accurate ball...

 in the South Australian National Football League

South Australian National Football League

The South Australian National Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the governing body for the sport of Australian rules football in South Australia....

 and Carlton Football Club

Carlton Football Club

The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...

 in the Victorian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

.

Motley, the son of former Port Adelaide

Port Adelaide Football Club

The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League...

 premiership star Geof Motley

Geof Motley

Geof Motley OAM was an Australian Rules Football player and coach who played for SANFL side Port Adelaide. Motley was born near Alberton Oval, the home ground of the Port Adelaide Football Club, and grew up supporting Port Adelaide....

, made his league debut for Sturt in 1982, and played 92 games for the Double Blues until 1985. His breakout season was 1983 when he played both at Centre half-forward

Centre half-forward

In Australian rules football, the centre half-forward is a position on the half-forward line of a football field. The directly opposing player is a Centre-Half-Back....

 and Centre half-back

Centre half-back

In Australian rules football, the centre half-back refers to a position in the half-back line of a football field.Centre half back is considered a key position in defence. Examples of centre half-backs include Glen Jakovich, Darren Mead, Tom Harley and Chris Tarrant....

 for Sturt and helped them to the SANFL Grand Final against West Adelaide. Unfortunately for Motley and Sturt, West Adelaide were too strong and ran out winners 21.16 (142) to 16.12 (108).

At only 18 years of age Peter Motley also made the first of six state games for South Australia at half-forward against Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

 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 Fairests awards in 1984 and 1985 and was named an All-Australian

All-Australian Team

The All-Australian Team is an all star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including interchange players and a coach, of the best performed during the season....

 in 1985.

Recruited by Carlton, Motley played 19 matches for the Blues. He made his VFL debut in Round 2 of the 1986 VFL season

1986 VFL season

Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1986.- Awards :* The Brownlow Medal was awarded to both Greg Williams of the Sydney Swans and Robert "Dipper" DiPierdomenico of the Hawthorn Hawks...

 against Richmond at Princes Park and went on to play 13 games for the Blues, including the Grand Final

1986 VFL Grand Final

The 1986 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 1986. It was the 90th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine...

 defeat against Hawthorn. Motley played in 6 games of the 1987 season

1987 VFL season

Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1987.-Night Series: defeated 8.10 to 8.6 in the Final at Waverley Park.-Leading goalkickers:...

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.