Allan Langer

[Organix]

Hands down Alf as the greatest nrl player ever. He was my hero growing up. He still is vital to the game at the broncos calling it from behind the lines as trainer. I always put him above Locky. He was just that one guy that played with heart and skill and I wish he never left. I cried the day he left and the day he came back. Was so lucky to go to that SOO match as a child.

 

[Accept]

Poor season? We finished 3, one point off the minor premiership and we made the second last weekend, only to lose 12 - 16 to the Roosters (and I note, we only lost because a kick from Alf at the end took a weird bounce and landed in the hands of Mini, rather than the 4 Broncs chasing it, one of whom would have scored easily).

Alf was really good that year!!!

Yeah, you're right. I'm confusing it with 2003.

 

[Big Pete]

I only started watching the Broncos in 2000, so unfortunately I don't have any specific memories of Alfie. The only time I got to watch him regularly was in 2002 and I'll always remember seeing him score his 100th try against Parramatta at QEII. It was my first ever Broncos game, and the only time I went to see them at QEII and the try essentially sealed a hard fought win for the Broncos.

The rest of 2002 is a blur. The only memory I have of Alf is watching him and thinking he could play inside a phone booth. He didn't require a lot of space to cause damage and in a league that was beginning to become more robotic, he was a breath of fresh air.

I've read up through a lot of Broncos history and while Locky is the best I've seen, Langer certainly gives him a run for his money. There were so many David Middleton write-ups where the games would be evenly poised until Langer would pull the trigger and win it for the Broncos. He was such a clutch player and that's why he's considered THE greatest player of the 90s.

 

[Brent81]

Yeah, you're right. I'm confusing it with 2003.

let us never remember 2003.....

And the bad days of Stuart Kelly....

 

[GCBRONCO]

I see Lockyer the better all round player, but Langer ultimately was the player who could pull a match winning play from absolutely nothing right when you needed it and quite frankly I haven't seen a player with as great a short kicking game as Langer possessed and his darting runs and step was superb as well. I remember him kicking his first field goal for the Maroons Growing up with the Broncos since their entry into the competition, people go on about Langer having all these internationals around him, but when it comes to the crunch, he often carried them, especially in the mid 90's after our two premierships in 92/93.

On another note I think it may have been Bennett's book where he talks about what happened to Langer in 1999 wanting to come off the field against the Cowboys fearing he would let the team down(and I got no doubt about this, he was definitely a confidence driven player and I see that in Hunt as well) and wanting to retire. Bennett said if he could do it all over again he wouldn't have let him retire (in the sense he would have sat him down, told him your not retiring, instead we are going to do what we can to sort this out). Apparently too when he rejoined the club back in 2002 the situation almost repeated itself during the season but Bennett wouldn't have any of it. Many sad occasions for the clubs history and though the start to the 1999 was a disaster that media conference in 1999 I was in shock, sure players including the king came and went but I just couldn't process my Broncos side without Alfie. Then there was the time Bennett shocked the league world when he brought back Langer for the deciding third match of the 2001 SOO series. The media and everyone south of the border were laughing at Bennett but it was a masterstroke and he had the last laugh with Langer playing a key role in the Maroon's thrashing of the blues.

 

[GCBRONCO]

Yeah, you're right. I'm confusing it with 2003.

I was so pumped for 2003, mainly because we were moving back to suncorp stadium and boy wasn't that a disappointment, took us ages to even win a game there. The biggest highlight of that season was that unforgettable Minto match winning try against the storm.

 

[jd123]

Langer was the best HB the Broncos ever had or ever will have IMO.

He was great for Queensland and Australia. Although all halfbacks are traditionally small, for Alf he was that bit smaller IMO and still punched well above his weight.

He used his legs judo style so many times in tackles after first having made contact with his hands that it brought down even the biggest forwards and his short kicking game was second to none, probably the best in the world at it.

As previously mentioned it is hard to compare him to JT, Alf was surrounded by some of the best players from the modern era during his reign at Brisbane and this certainly went a long way to allow him to bring out his best, but for shear talent, enthusiasm, skill and athleticism it hurts to say it because I love them both but JT is miles in front of Langer or any other Halfback that I have ever seen.

 

[winslow_wong]

Is someone gonna start a Lockyer thread soon?

 

[Allo]

I see Lockyer the better all round player, but Langer ultimately was the player who could pull a match winning play from absolutely nothing right when you needed it

I'm not going to say he couldn't do it, and honestly Alfie was a few years before my time and I haven't watched much 90-00s footage, but Locky was the ultimate clutch player to me. Would I be right in saying Alfie was probably more individual brilliance whereas Locky set the team up more (ie 40-20s, pinpoint passes and chips)?

 

[Accept]

let us never remember 2003.....

And the bad days of Stuart Kelly....

Richard Swain immediately springs to mind.

 

[Morkel]

I'm not going to say he couldn't do it, and honestly Alfie was a few years before my time and I haven't watched much 90-00s footage, but Locky was the ultimate clutch player to me. Would I be right in saying Alfie was probably more individual brilliance whereas Locky set the team up more (ie 40-20s, pinpoint passes and chips)?

Fair assessment IMO.

But that's the brilliance of JT - he can do both.

 

[Big Pete]

JT is an amazing player, but he isn't above Langer or Lockyer.

They're all in the same category, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The same can be said of Andrew Johns, Laurie Daley, Brad Fittler, Glenn Lazarus, Mal Meninga, Brett Kenny, Peter Sterling, Bradley Clyde and all the greats of the modern era.

Yes, Alfie enjoyed his share of benefits at club level, but what about Thurston's run at representative level? Not only has he played alongside some amazing players, the opposition has left a lot to be desired. Alfie came up against some fierce competition - Daley, Fittler, Lazarus, Harragon, Clyde among others. As a unit, the current Blues side would get demolished by that line-up.

 

[Broncoman]

JT is an amazing player, but he isn't above Langer or Lockyer.
.

Lockyer and Langer also had defensive skills where in defense JT is a liability. Holmes and others have sent him flying over the years where Langer was underrated as a defender imo, tackled above his weight.

 

[Big Pete]

That's harsh on JT, like Lockyer and Langer he's had his moments both good and bad.

Thurston is an excellent cover defensive player, he always puts himself in play no matter how dire the circumstances.

 

[Scorchie]

1. Lockyer
2. Langer
3. Webcke

No contest on those three.

 

[Huge]

For what it's worth, I was sitting in the chair at the hairdressers getting my hair cut by a young lady. Her boyfriend turned up, that was Alfie when he came courting Jeanine. He had just finished work or had skipped early, maybe he had finished in the council then, I can't be sure. My Dad would know, he was the truck driver for the patching gang Alf worked in but I'd have to dig Dad up to ask him !

I was lucky enough to see Alf at his absolute peak, I was at the 92 Grand Final and also saw lots of Broncos games in that era. Naturally enough I saw Wally too prior to that. Alf was the best halfback we ever had and was brilliant when in partnership with Kev Walters, a much bigger talent than most give credit for. If Johns was better, it wasn't by much and Stuart wasn't even close to those two. Only Thurston can be mentioned alongside them.

 

[Scorchie]

He must have had photos of the CEO or something - I remember Langer constantly getting screwed over in Kangaroo tours for him

 

[Broncoman]

He must have had photos of the CEO or something - I remember Langer constantly getting screwed over in Kangaroo tours for him

Only after we lost the first test, Ricky would get called in and we would end up winning the series.