AFL great Tony Modra has broken his silence nearly a week after a serious truck crash left him with severe facial injuries. The former Adelaide Crows and Fremantle Dockers star, 57, was involved in a freak accident on June 18 when a tree branch smashed through the windscreen of his cattle truck near his property south of Adelaide.
Modra was rushed to hospital in a critical condition and has since undergone multiple surgeries. While still recovering, he recorded a voice message for AFL fans ahead of the Showdown clash between the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide Power on Saturday night.
"G'day everybody, I'm really looking forward to watching tonight's Showdown," Modra said in the message, which was shared by former Crows teammate Mark Ricciuto on Fox Footy. "I've heard I've had a lot of support, not just Crows fans but Port fans as well, so I'd just like to thank everybody."
Modra expressed his gratitude to the first responders, Sarah and Anthony, who he said saved his life, and also gave a significant thank you to the staff at Victor Harbor hospital and Flinders Private Hospital. "He said they've been absolutely brilliant," Ricciuto relayed. "He said he thought he knew teamwork - until he'd seen how the doctors and nurses and staff down at the hospitals have looked after him, so a massive shoutout to them."
His wife, Erica, and two children, Hayley and Luke, are providing support. Ricciuto noted that Modra, despite not sounding the same, was in good spirits and retained his sense of humor, even joking about his infamous 1996 hit on Dean Kemp. "He didn't look the same, he didn't sound the same, but he had the same sense of humour," Ricciuto said. "I can't describe with the same words how much he said it hurt but what he did say was now I know what Dean Kemp felt like after you knocked him (out)."
Modra, a two-time All Australian, played 165 AFL games and kicked 558 goals during his career. He won the Coleman Medal in 1997 and was recognized with the Mark of the Year award three times. Port Adelaide Power ultimately won the Showdown match by 26 points.