ALLAN LANGER

'Allan Jeffery Langer AM' (born 30 July, 1966 in Ipswich, Queensland), often nicknamed "The Little General", and commonly known as "Alf" or "Alfie", is an Australian former rugby league half-back. Langer was one of the pre-eminent players of the 1980s and 1990s, representing Australia on several occasions and taking the record for most State of Origin appearances of any player. He played most of his career as captain of the Brisbane Broncos, with whom he won the 1992 Clive Churchill Medal and Dally M Medal, as well as the club's player of the year award a record five times.

Contents

Youth

1987-1993 - Early Success

1994-1996 - Premiership Drought

1997-2000 - Success Returns

2001 & 2002 - The Comeback

External links

Youth

Born and raised in Ipswich, Queensland, Langer grew up playing football alongside brothers and future Brisbane Broncos (as well as Queensland Maroons and Australian Kangaroos) team mates Kevin and Kerrod Walters. This combination of players was known famously as "The Ipswich Connection". He was selected as an Australian schoolboy representative in 1982. Coached by former champion Australian half-back Tommy Raudonikis, Langer became a key player for the Ipswich Jets when he was only 17 and was playing first grade for the club by 1986.

1987-1993 - Early Success

Langer made his State of Origin debut in 1987, and his superb performance saw him signed on with the newly-established Brisbane Broncos in 1988. Captained under Wally Lewis, Langer developed much skill with the ball and learnt much from his mentor, and in 1988 he was the Broncos' player of the year. That year he also made his debut for the Australian test side against Papua New Guinea.
Following the axing of Lewis from the Broncos and the retirement of Gene Miles, the diminutive Langer became captain in 1992. Alfie, along with Steve Renouf, was the Broncos' top try scorer that year, and the Little General steered his team to their maiden Premiership, winning the Clive Churchill Medal for best and fairest player on the field in the Grand Final.
The following year saw Langer again lead the Broncos to a Premiership, the first time a team which had finished 5th in the minor premiership had gone on to become premiers.

1994-1996 - Premiership Drought

The years 1994-1996 were characterised by successive failures by the Broncos to win the Australian Rugby League Premiership. However Langer won the Broncos' player of the year award every year from 1993 to 1996. He was also named by ''Rugby League Week'' as the player of the year in 1996.
He lost his position in the test squad to Ricky Stuart after an opening loss to England in the Ashes series in the 1994 Kangaroo tour. In 1995, Langer, along with many other Broncos players, lost their representative positions because they had signed contracts to play for Super League (Australia). In 1996, Langer returned to State of Origin, however Queensland still lost the series in a 3-0 whitewash.

1997-2000 - Success Returns

Langer again captained the Broncos to premierships in 1997 (in the branched Super League) and in 1998 (in the integrated National Rugby League competition). In 1998, Langer and his mentor, Queensland (and Broncos) coach Wayne Bennett, became the first captain-coach combination to win the NRL Premiership, State of Origin and Test series in the same year.
After a lacklustre start to the 1999 season, Langer announced his retirement from rugby league mid-year, with the Broncos' captaincy being passed onto Kevin Walters. However, Alfie soon came out of retirement to play in England for the Warrington Wolves.
In 2000 Langer was honoured as a Member of the Order of Australia "for service to Rugby League football as a player at national and international levels, and as a supporter of charities, particularly those raising funds for cancer research". Later that year he was also awarded the Australian Sports Medal

2001 & 2002 - The Comeback

In 2001, Wayne Bennett made a surprise selection of Langer - then still playing in England - for the Queensland side in the third and deciding State of Origin match of that year. There were doubts as to whether Langer, in the twilight of his playing career, would be able to withstand the physical rigours of State of Origin football. Some Sydney journalists, such as Phil Gould, questioned the state of Queensland's football talent, given that they had needed to "bring back 35-year-olds to win." However on the night Langer set up two tries and scored one himself, leading Queensland to victory only a year after they had suffered their worst ever State of Origin defeat. He became the oldest player to play in State of Origin football. In response, reporters from Queensland, most notably Minh Tran, led the spirited story of "Alfie's fairy tale night" .
Langer was later lured back to the Broncos for one final season in 2002 where, despite his good form, the team was unable to win the Premiership. At the time of his retirement, he had made the most appearances as captain for the Broncos and was one of only two players to have been the man-of-the-match in a State of Origin game more than three times (the other being Wally Lewis).

External links

★ Allan Langer at stateoforigin.com.au

★ Allan Langer at bronconet.org

★ 28/04/1999 7:30 Report Transcript: ''Langer retirement spells end of a Rugby League era''

★ 25/06/2001 7:30 Report Transcript: ''Langer returns to State of Origin''