IN THE MEDIA: Little Luke Modra given all clear, proving to be a high flyer like his Dad!
Born 12 weeks premature and weighing only 1.29kg, Luke Anthony Modra was fighting for his life in the Flinders Medical Centre five years ago.
Now the son of Crows legend Tony Modra is a healthy, sports-mad boy.
He has started playing Auskick and, to the delight of Adelaide fans everywhere, showing the same talent as his high-flying father.
Recalling Luke’s courageous battle to survive in the days after his birth, Modra and his wife Erica are simply grateful to have a well and happy child.
“It’s really special considering where we were when he was prem (premature), compared to what he’s doing now.
“We’re very lucky parents to see him run out there and obviously show some very good signs of being a normal child,” said Modra, who played 118 games and kicked 440 goals for the Crows during 1990s.
“He loves having a jump at the footy and taking a bit of a speccy, and that sort of thing,” Modra said.
“But Luke is a very good tackler, unlike me. I don’t know where he got that from. Put it this way, if he can’t get it, he doesn’t want anyone else to get it.”
If you ask Luke himself, he says one day he wants to don the tricolours just like his dad and become the Crows’ most anticipated father-son recruit.
“I love footy 100 (per cent). I like big marks and snaps, kicking goals,” Luke said.
After more than a decade working as a farmer on his property at Waitpinga on the Fleurieu Peninsula, Modra and the family returned to Adelaide about seven months ago, allowing the SA icon to take up a key role with the Little Heroes Foundation as Corporate Relations Manager.
“It’s been fantastic. I’ve been playing the Slowdown (Little Heroes charity footy game) the last 15 years but now I have a bit more input with the Foundation and can try and raise a bit more money for the sick kids,” Modra said.
“We’re also more central for Luke and Hayley. There’s a lot more for them to do and more opportunities. We’re really loving it.”