The first time was as a passionate Port Adelaide supporter, watching his elder brother Daniel go down to the Cats in the 2007 premiership decider.
This year it was as a player in the curtain raiser, when the Northern Territory lost by less than a goal to Tasmania in the final of the under-16 Division Two Championships.
Motlop was allowed to play as one of the designated mature-aged players and starred with five goals in the losing cause.
He had also been a standout in junior football for some time but it was probably his final performance of 2008 that sealed the deal for Geelong recruiting manager Stephen Wells.
Ironically, Motlop joins the club that two years ago inflicted some pain on the team he once supported – Port Adelaide.
Motlop, then a passionate Power supporter who will always want to see his brother do well, still remembers the 2007 grand final and feeling for his brother.
“I just felt real sorry for Daniel,” Motlop said.
“Geelong was just too good.”
Many had considered the 17-year-old a shoe-in to join his older brother Daniel and cousin, Marlon, at the Power.
But despite Port Adelaide being sweet on the supremely-gifted forward, the Cats pounced before them with pick 39 in last month’s NAB AFL Draft.
So how did Motlop feel when Geelong, a club that a little more than a year earlier had destroyed his team, announced they would take a chance on him?
“It was good, it was a relief,” Motlop said.
“I was really happy.”
Motlop, who watched the draft on the internet at eldest brother Shannon’s house, said he had a hunch he might be trading in his Port Adelaide jumper for another club’s colours.
“I’d spoken to a few clubs [before the day]. Port were the most likely one but Geelong, a couple of days before the draft asked a few questions like ‘how would you feel if you had to move down to Geelong?’ and stuff like that,” Motlop said.
“When they picked me, I wasn’t really surprised because I’d spoken to them at the draft camp too. They’d said that they really like Daniel and they loved how he plays.”
Making things a tad easier was the fact he wasn’t a complete stranger to everyone at Skilled Stadium.
He said he was “good mates with Nathan Djerrkura” and knew Mathew Stokes via the Darwin connection.
“I’ve met all the players and they’re a good bunch of blokes,” he said. “They’re really welcoming and they’re all great fellas.
“My parents came down to the club and [captain] Tom Harley came up and introduced himself … my Dad’s really impressed.”
With his left arm still in a sling following a shoulder reconstruction, Motlop won’t be throwing himself into pre-season training at the same rate as his fellow draftees.
But when he does get stuck in, the 182cm goalkicker is certain of one thing – creating his own identity.
“Another good side of coming here to Geelong is that I’ve always wanted to make my own name for myself,” Motlop said.
“I’m by myself … if I was at Port I would have been competing with Daniel, too.”
