28 Facts About Tony Modra

Anthony Dale Modra was born on 1 March 1969 and is a former Australian rules footballer who represented Adelaide and Fremantle in the Australian Football League and West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League.

Tony Modra was born in McLaren Vale, South Australia, but grew up nearby in Christies Beach, South Australia, and attended Christies Beach Primary School along with future Adelaide teammate Nigel Smart.

Tony Modra moved to Loxton, South Australia, at age 11 with his parents and four older siblings.

Tony Modra first played Under-19s game for West Adelaide in 1988 but could not adjust to working and playing football in Adelaide.

Modra returned home, and in 1989, as a 20-year-old, Tony kicked 76 goals for the Loxton Football Club; Loxton would end up losing the Grand Final to Barmera-Monash.

In 1990, Tony Modra joined his brothers Rick and Kym at the Renmark Rovers Football Club in pursuit of a premiership.

In 1991, Tony Modra attempted to move to Red Cliffs in the Sunraysia Football League and played one pre-season game for the club, kicking 13 goals on newly Sydney-drafted Darren Holmes.

However, Tony Modra was still contracted to West Adelaide, and they would not be awarded a fee if Tony Modra was to play in the AFL one day.

Lawyers from Red Cliffs faced a tribunal in Adelaide, but the tribunal ruled that Tony Modra was a contracted West Adelaide player.

Tony Modra did enough to earn an invite to an Adelaide Crows training session, and he managed to win selection in the squad.

Tony Modra was selected in the 1991 AFL Draft as a Zone Selection for the Adelaide Football Club.

Tony Modra played 15 SANFL games for West Adelaide and kicked 46 goals between 1988 and 1991.

Tony Modra played 8 games in his debut season of 1992, kicking 21 goals.

Tony Modra was an instant success, kicking 10 goals in the opening round against Richmond at Melbourne Cricket Ground and finishing the year as runner-up to Geelong's Gary Ablett Sr.

Also in 1994, Tony Modra garnered controversy when he insulted a female flight attendant while on a flight from Hong Kong.

Tony Modra apologised for the incident, citing his 'nightlife' as the cause, and was given fines by both the Adelaide Crows and the AFL.

In 1997, Tony Modra won the Coleman Medal for the most goals in the season, and he was selected in the All-Australian team.

Tony Modra was thus one of only a few leading Crows players who did not receive a premiership medallion in either of the Crows premiership years of 1997 and 1998.

Since 2003, Tony Modra has worked as a cattle farmer on his property at Waitpinga, near Victor Harbor, with his family, wife Erica and two children, Hayley May and Luke.

Tony Modra resumed playing local football for Encounter Bay in the Great Southern Football League, where he is still affiliated.

In 2021, Tony Modra was named in the Team of the Century for Encounter Bay.

Tony Modra played for the Prince Alfred Old Collegians Football Club alongside old teammate Mark Ricciuto in division 4 of the South Australian Amateur Football League.

Tony Modra plays in charity games such as the West End Slowdown and was still taking huge marks as recently as October 2015 at the age of 46; he produced an amazing mark, gaining significant media attention.

Tony Modra plays cricket for the Encounter Bay Cricket Club.

Tony Modra kicked 10 goals against Lucindale on 30 June 2006.

In May 2011, it was reported that Tony Modra was considering a return to the AFL as a coach with Adelaide.

In late 2021, Tony Modra made the move to Queensland, where he linked up with his old Fitness Coach Karli Owen, who ran him through a rigorous six-month program that allowed him to return to South Australia and take up a role within the Glenelg Masters.

Tony Modra attributed his breakout season to Karli and her strict training regime for his return to his former glory.