"GEOF was a man of principle. He would call out b-s. He would challenge the status quo. If he thought something was not right, he would say so - and do something about it. He was on the right side of making things better."
Port Adelaide premiership hero - Magarey and Brownlow Medallist Nathan Buckley - knows better than most how Geof Motley would take on a crusade.
Motley was by Buckley's side in 1992 - after his triumph in the Magarey Medal count - when the struggling Brisbane (then the Bears rather than Lions) claimed the Adelaide-born midfielder as a "zone recruit" based on his record of representing the Northern Territory in junior football and his first senior game recorded at NTFL club Southern Districts in Darwin.
Brisbane listed Buckley without his knowledge.
As Buckley and his father Ray were being overwhelmed by the AFL's complex recruiting system and the league's significant legal power - plus its determination to avoid the draft being struck down in the law courts on grounds of restraint of trade, as came to be in rugby league - Motley found his battleground.
"I did not know 'Mots' at all before he walked up to me at the Magarey Medal grove at West Lakes during my tree-planting ceremony," Buckley recalls.
"He was upfront, as Geof always was. He told me how he thought I was going about dealing with the AFL draft system - badly, he said.
"Dad and I were not challenging the draft. We were simply trying to navigate the storm we found ourselves in. We were dealing with heavy hitters from the clubs - and then the AFL became increasingly interested considering I had been listed by Brisbane the year before without my knowledge.
"In stepped Geof. He felt he could offer a bit of a hand. 'I think I can help you,' he said. That's how late he came into the picture - September 1992."
Buckley had an ally for life - a mentor, a confidant, a friend.
"Geof was more than a helpful guide through my football journey," Buckley said. "I am lucky to have had him as a friend. I was blessed to know Geof. How fortunate was I to have Geof Motley by my side, in my corner."
Never was this more evident than in 1992 when Buckley, as he puts it, was "navigating the big pond that is the AFL."
"I needed some help. Geof believed the draft was a restraint of trade," recalls Buckley who ultimately did go to Brisbane for the 1993 AFL season with the understanding he would be in Melbourne - at the Collingwood Football Club specifically by his choice - in 1994.
The AFL national draft remains, however.
"I was a poor case for Geof, but he wanted to help," Buckley said. "Geof thought the draft needed to be challenged on principle. And when Geof formed an opinion, he was very stubborn.
"When Geof set his mind to something, nothing would get the better of him. He was unrelenting. He also was a man of honesty and integrity - and expected the same of others. I learned he was that way with his business dealings, starting with his manufacturing of sports equipment to his representing AFL players.
"All my dealings with Geof highlighted how he was a man of principle determined to see people treated with respect and fairly.
"That moment in 1992 highlighted just that. Dad - who is no shrinking violet - and I were very small fish in a big pond when we trying to navigate our way in the AFL. We were becoming bystanders in what became a bigger and wider issue with the AFL, its clubs, the first version of what we know today as list managers and player agents.
"It was painful to be just pawns in an AFL system determined to protect its interests. And this is where the character and willpower of 'Mots' stood out against the big players in the AFL - meeting after meeting with John Kennedy, Ross Oakley, John Elliott, 'Gubby' Allan, Greg Miller ...
"I was relieved to have 'Mots' on my side. I was so lucky to have 'Mots' on my side.
"The AFL was flexing its muscle to protect the draft - as (Port Adelaide team-mate) Brett Chalmers knows when they made him a cautionary tale (with a $30,000 fine for supposedly tampering with the draft to ensure he was taken by Collingwood at No.10 in the 1992 AFL national draft).
"With 'Mots' handling my case, he was not going to allow me to become another fall guy. I was extra fortunate to have him handling my interests."
Born in 1972, Buckley never saw Motley as a player or coach.
"But I know the record - and it really struck me how powerful that record reads when Geof was inducted to the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2008," Buckley said.
"I understand how Russell Ebert is feted as Port Adelaide's greatest player. But I would argue Geof also is as significant a figure in the Port Adelaide Football Club's history, as is Fos Williams.
"Do the blind test - nine premierships, four best-and-fairest awards, captain, premiership coach, Magarey Medal ... look at what Geof achieved. That is one of the most impressive CVs in football."
There also is Motley's incredible devotion as a father after one of his two sons, Peter, faced life-threatening injuries from a car crash in Melbourne in 1987 while he was playing for VFL club Carlton.
"Geof's support of Peter was just so strong," Buckley said in admiration of Motley's love for his son. "Geof went through some struggles and challenges in life. He was amazingly resilient. Always was."
