Allan Langer

Infobox rugby league biography
playername = Allan Langer
fullname = Allan Jeffrey Langer
nickname = Alf, Alfie, The Little General


caption =
country =
position = rlp|HB
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1966|7|30|df=y
placeofbirth = Ipswich, Queensland
countryofbirth = Australia
height = convert|165|cm|ftin|abbr=on
weight = convert|88|kg|stlb|abbr=on
retired = yes
club1 =
year1start = 1986
year1end = 1987
appearances1 =
tries1 =
goals1 =
fieldgoals1 =
points1 =
club2 =
year2start = 1988
year2end = 1999
appearances2 = 240
tries2 = 95
goals2 = 0
fieldgoals2 = 8
points2 = 401
club3 =
year3start = 2000
year3end = 2001
appearances3 = 55
tries3 = 13
goals3 = 4
fieldgoals3 = 0
points3 = 72
club4 =
year4start = 2002
year4end =
appearances4 = 18
tries4 = 5
goals4 = 0
fieldgoals4 = 0
points4 = 20
teamA =
yearAstart = 1987
yearAend = 2002
appearancesA = 34
triesA = 10
goalsA = 0
fieldgoalsA = 1
pointsA = 41
teamB =
yearBstart = 1997
yearBend =
appearancesB = 3
triesB = 1
goalsB = 0
fieldgoalsB = 0
pointsB = 4
teamC =
yearCstart = 1988
yearCend = 1998
appearancesC = 22
triesC = 3
goalsC = 0
fieldgoalsC = 0
pointsC = 12
teamD =
yearDstart = 1997
yearDend =
appearancesD = 1
triesD = 0
goalsD = 0
fieldgoalsD = 0
pointsD = 0
source = [http://203.166.101.37/NRL08/playercareer.asp?lplayer=14 NRL Stats]

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 multi-award-winning rugby league footballer. Langer was one of the pre-eminent half-backs 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 Rothmans Medal, as well as four premierships and the club's player of the year award a record five times.

Youth

Born and raised in Ipswich, Queensland, Langer grew up playing football at Northern Suburbs Tigers alongside brothers and future Brisbane Broncos (as well as Queensland Maroons and Australian Kangaroos) team mates Kevin and Kerrod Walters. This combination of players would become 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 the 1987 series while still playing for the Jets. His superb performance, including a man-of-the-match award in the decider, saw him signed on with the newly-established Brisbane Broncos in 1988. Captained under Wally Lewis, Langer developed further skill with the ball and learnt much from his mentor, and in 1988 his two tries in the State of Origin opener saw him named man-of-the-match again. That year he also made his debut for the Australian test side against Papua New Guinea and at the end of the NSWRL season was named the Broncos' player of the year. Langer then went on to score two tries in Australia's win in the World Cup final over New Zealand. Suffering a broken leg in 1989, Langer missed a lot of football that season.

Following the axing of Lewis from the Broncos and later the retirement of Gene Miles, the diminutive Langer became captain of the Broncos in 1992. Alfie then played in all three matches of 1992's State of Origin series (scoring one try and kicking the match-winning field goal in Game II), won the Rothmans Medal for best and fairest player in the Winfield Cup competition that season and, along with Steve Renouf, was the year's top try scorer for the Broncos. He also steered his team to their maiden Premiership, winning the Clive Churchill Medal for best and fairest player on the field in the grand final. Later in the year he also played in Australia's 1992 Rugby League World Cup final victory, topping off a remarkable season.

The following year saw the Little General again lead the Broncos to a Premiership, the first time a team which had finished 5th in the regular season 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. Langer 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, Alfie, along with many other Broncos players, lost their representative positions because they had signed contracts to play for Super League (Australia). However Langer won the Broncos' player of the year award every year from 1993 to 1996. He was also made captain of the Queensland State of Origin team in 1996 and was named by "Rugby League Week" as that season's player of the year.

1997-2000 - Success Returns

Langer again captained the Broncos to victory in the 1997 World Club Challenge and the Super League premiership. In the first game of the 1998 State of Origin series Langer was named man-of-the-match. Also that year, for the second time, Langer captained the Broncos to a second consecutive premiership. In 1998, Langer and his mentor, Australia, 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 the English Super League competition for the Warrington Wolves.

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.

Langer was later lured back to the Broncos for one final season in 2002. He was named man-of-the-match in the third and deciding game of that year's State of Origin series. However despite his good form, Brisbane were unable to win the Premiership.

At the time of his retirement, Langer had made the most appearances as captain for the Brisbane Broncos and was one of only two players to have been named man-of-the-match in a State of Origin game more than three times (the other being Wally Lewis).

Post-playing

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.

In February 2008, Langer was named in the list of Australia's "100 Greatest Players" (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. [cite web|publisher="NRL & ARL"|title=Centenary of Rugby League - The Players|url=http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/the-players.aspx?cat=3&list=true|accessdate=2008-02-23|date=2008-02-23] A few months later the Brisbane Broncos appointed Allan Langer, along with Shane Webcke as full-time assistant coaches to work alongside new head coach Ivan Henjak from the 2009 season.

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.stateoforigin.com.au/SOOgame/PlayerDetails.aspx?Pid=350 Allan Langer at stateoforigin.com.au]
* [http://www.bronconet.org/index.cfm?MenuID=213&TopMenuID=183 Allan Langer at bronconet.org]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/stories/s23344.htm 28/04/1999 7:30 Report Transcript: "Langer retirement spells end of a Rugby League era"]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2001/s318365.htm 25/06/2001 7:30 Report Transcript: "Langer returns to State of Origin"]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/01/2232569.htm "Langer, Webcke hired as Broncos assistants" - article at abc.net.au]
* [http://nz.leagueunlimited.com/news.php?newsid=16380 "Queensland Team of the Century named" - article at nz.leagueunlimited.com]