R.I.P Graeme Langlands

[Gareth67]

Rothfield the piece of shit has edited his article to make it look like the previous submission never existed.

Scumbag.

A huge leech who makes his money from the blood and sweat of honest sportsmen and women .
How else can he provide for the rest of his brood , who sit in the D.T. sports department ? As matriarch of that lot , he requires no scruples .

 

[Crescent dragon]

My earliest Rugby League memory as a young lad is the 1972 World cup Final and the incorrectly disallowed Changa try of the Dennis Ward Kick. The French ref probably thought no player could possibly be that athletic and fast.

I also vividly remember 20th Sept 1975 - the white boots GF , my 12th birthday and my first Redv jersey

Vale Changa

SFTG

I was at that 75 Grand Final, also as a 12 year old. Was supposed to stay at my mates that night for a sleep over! Just wanted to go home, devastated. Always had his No1 jumper and my brother had Eadies No1 Manly jumper, jeez those backyard games as a kid. Always heard bad of him but he was my absolute hero

 

[GC Dragon]

A very sad day indeed.
Actually like losing part of my self as he was such a hero for so long when he played and his playing deeds long discussed well after his retirement and still relevant today.
He was the inspiration for so many kids and everyone wanted to sidestep like Chang.
The greatest player I've seen wear the Big Red V and interestingly I never heard a player talk ill of him.
His footballing ability was a proven fact and anyone who picks this time to discuss anything other than his footballing skills should STFU.

Well said and I am much the same . It is like a part of you is gone .Changa was the reason I started following rugby league as a kid and the reason I follow the Dragons .
As a kid living in Sydney I used to follow him around the suburban grounds and watch him week after week . Then wait outside the sheds for his autograph . I had his signature over 50 times .
His last game against Wests at Lidcombe oval in 76 I waited for what seemed a eternity for him to come out . He signed my Big League as usual and I said to him as always " See ya next week Changa " .....He said back to me " No you won't kid " ....Rubbed me on the head and said " You take care of yourself ok ?" . He was a true legend of our game and our club ....RIP Changa .....The greatest Dragon of them all in my eyes .

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

RIP Changa... Immortal.........side stepping your way up top now

 

[blacksafake]

Was one of my favourites along with smithy & a true legend of the game. Bob Fulton said it all stating that he was the best all round player of all time. Not so big but tough as old leather.
RIP Champ

 

[getsmarty]

Rugby league immortal Graeme Langlands dead
Local News
Fonder memories: Graeme 'Changa' Langlands played 45 Tests for Australia, including 15 as captain. Photo: SMH
Rugby league immortal Graeme Langlands has died overnight in his Sutherland nursing home.

His family released a statement on Sunday morning expressing their sadness and a desire for privacy.

"Graeme was in very poor health and suffering from a number of chronic diseases including Dementia," the statement reads. "His family are relieved by the nurse's advice that his passing was peaceful and painless."

The 76-year-old had been suffering from dementia and alzheimer’s according to his lawyer, amid allegations of indecent treatment of a girl under 16 in the 1980s.

Graeme Langlands did not appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court. Picture: Simon Alekna

The family addressed the legal proceedings in the statement, claiming Queensland Police's "egregious prosecution" of Langlands over the past few months has only served to heighten their devastation.

"The family maintains its position that this was an improper prosecution and that the allegations are refutable on the evidence in their possession. The family reserve making further comment to a later time."

In his prime, Langlands had the best sidestep in the game. But his life after league was marked by an injury, estrangement from his son and a legal battle as he worked a series of jobs, including as a bar manager in the Philippines.

He played 45 Tests for Australia, including 15 as captain, and more than 200 games for the Dragons between 1963 and 1976.

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/5179804/rugby-league-immortal-graeme-langlands-dead/?cs=300

 

[getsmarty]

NRL NEWS

Langlands the game's best "all-round player'': Fulton
Author
Brad Walter Senior Reporter
Timestamp
Sun 21 Jan 2018, 03:12 PM

Fellow Immortal Bob Fulton has described the late Graeme Langlands as the best all-round player in the game’s history.

Fulton, one of the game's eight Immortals, played alongside Langlands and under him as captain-coach for the Australian team from 1968 until the last of the versatile St George legend's Test appearances in 1975.

While regarded as a great fullback who had always preferred to run the ball into opposition defences rather than kick it, there were many aspects to Langlands' game and he was considered so good that another position often had to be found for him in representative teams.

As a result, Langlands played 25 of his 45 appearances for Australia in the centres, one on the wing and another off the bench.

''I am quite comfortable in saying he was the best all-round player the game has ever had,'' Fulton told NRL.com after the death of Langlands, aged 76, in his sleep at a nursing home on Saturday night.

''When you start isolating the various aspects of an all-rounder, you are talking about individual brilliance.

''He was tough, he was a goal kicker, he was a general-play kicker, he could play centre, wing or fullback and he played all of those positions at international level, which not a lot of people could say about any other player in the game.

Rugby league immortal Graeme Langlands at the 2012 NRL grand final. NRL Photos
''There would be plenty of debate about who is the best back and best forward but I am putting the label on ''Chang'' as the best allrounder I have ever seen, and I cover a fair amount of time in the game.''

Many believe Langlands' versatility controversially cost him a place in the Team of the Century chosen to mark the centenary of the game in Australia in 2008, but Fulton said there was no doubt he would have been a superstar in any era of the game.

''If you look through every generation there were players who other players liked playing with and in that particular period Chang was that sort of player,'' Fulton said.

“He was a leader and a real presence player. If a game had to be won he could do it any way. He could do it even with a tough run.

“He played at about 84kg, but under the present training structures and professionalism he would have been up to 95kg.”

Besides being a key member of the St George teams which continued the club’s dominance in the 1960s, with Langlands winning four grand finals alongside fellow Immortals Reg Gasnier and John Raper and halfback Billy Smith, he also played a significant role in establishing Australia as the leading Test nation.

Langlands first captained Australia in 1970 and led the team as captain or captain-coach on 15 occasions, becoming the first player to score more than 100 points for the Kangaroos as he led his team to victory in the deciding Test of the 1974 series against Great Britain at the SCG.

''If you could liken him to a song, it would be ‘I Did It My Way','' said Fulton, who was a regular room-mate of Langlands on tours with the Australia team.

''He did it his way and he made an unbelievable impact on the game in all areas – from a coaching point of view, from a playing point of view and from a captaincy point of view.

''He was a bloke who you had to get know, but once you did he was as loyal as all hell, and we were great mates.''

In recent months Langlands had battled dementia and alzheimers and was unable face court on charges of indecent dealing with a girl under 16 over allegations stemming back to the 1980s.

ARLC chairman John Grant, who played alongside Langlands at the 1972 World Cup, acknowledged that he ''wasn’t everyone's cup of tea'' but praised his leadership and understanding of the game.

''I met him when I was 22, I was the only Queenslander on the tour and Chang was the unquestioned leader,'' Grant said. ''He certainly didn’t go out of his way to please people but his football was just fantastic. It was outstanding and that is why he is an Immortal.''

Grant, who played on the wing, was near to Langlands when he was infamously denied a try which would have won the World Cup final against Great Britain because French officials didn’t believe it was possible for him to have been onside from halfback Dennis Ward's kick.

''When Ward put the kick up I was onside and Chang was behind me,'' Grant said. ''He must have got some message from Ward that he was going to put it up and Chang came past me like a steam train, dived over the line, caught the ball and scored the try.

''The referee said he couldn't have possibly done that but to this day that was a try and it could have turned the game. Great Britain won the game on a count back after extra time, which was the last time they won a World Cup.''

Langlands wasn't renowned for motivational speeches but Grant, who had remained in contact with him during his six years as ARLC chairman, said he led by actions both on and off the field in his role as Australia captain.

''We had a big night out in Perpignan and Harry Bath, the coach, was not very pleased so he got us all up at 7am to train and it was freezing cold and raining,'' Grant said. ''When we went down to the local oval, Bath just made us all run and Chang led the run for the whole time we ran.

''Again, it was just 'I'm going to do it, I am going to lead, I'm going to lead by example' and that is how he played the game. You could not help but admire how he was as a football player and how he was as a leader by example.

''His passing is really significant, his contribution to the game on the field is really significant, you need to understand the character to have an appreciation for him, but at the end of the day we have lost an Immortal and that is really sad.''

Ron Coote, who replaced Langlands as Kangaroos captain for the 1970 World Cup after he had been ruled out with a broken hand, described him as one of the toughest and best players he had played with or against.

''Myself and Bob McCarthy first played against him for the South Sydney Under 19s team in Wollongong in 1963. He was playing for Wollongong and you certainly see then that he was a very special player,'' said Coote, who is President of Men of League.

''He captained St George to a lot of success and was one of the all-time greats. He was so tough, he had a great sidestep and the speed he had and his agility to find a hole in the opposition defence just set him apart.''

His toughness and willingness to play through pain also led to another infamous moment, when Langlands – wearing white boots –was a mere passenger in the 1975 grand final, after a painkilling needle in his ankle hit a nerve.

''If he had been fit, everyone would have been wearing white boots 15 years earlier but the needle went in the wrong way and he couldn't feel anything in his leg,'' St George team-mate Steve Edge recalled of the 38-0 loss to Eastern Suburbs Roosters.

''We were in the game, it was only 5-0 at halftime and we were a bit unlucky not to be in front but afterwards everyone was down in the dumps. Having Chang in your team was like having an extra two players on the field, he was that good.''

Edge said Langlands would always be associated with the club for whom he played 227 matches in 14 seasons, and along with Smith was one of the last two surviving members of the great St George teams which won 11 consecutive premierships from 1956.

''One of the greatest things that ever happened to me was that I got to play with two of my heroes who I had watched growing up in Graeme Langlands and Billy Smith,'' Edge said.

''Opposition teams would kick the ball down the field and you'd say just watch the first two tacklers, there isn't a chance in the world of them getting him. He'd put on that big sidestep and away he would go.''

https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/01/21/fulton-on-langlands-the-best-all-round-player-the-game-has-had/

 

[SaintPauli]

One of the greatest players and arguably best fullback ever. What a talent to be admired by all NRL.

Phil Rothfield should be ashamed by his comments for a player, husband, father and man who died innocent.

God bless Changa Langlands

 

[Coffs dragon]

Phil Rothfield shows his true colours & character.....a disrespectful lowlife arsehole. How dare he knock a champion in death and a time of mourning.
This is a time to reflect on the joy that Chang provided to the RL world.

 

[Drakon]

JANUARY 21 2018 - 7:04PM
PRINT
LICENSE ARTICLE
Rugby league legend Graeme Langlands didn't know about the sexual assault allegations levelled at him

• Andrew Webster
  
  • CONTACT VIA EMAIL
    
  • FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK

212 reading now

Show comments



In the last few months, a roll call of rugby league legends would shuffle into the nursing home in the Sutherland Shire to see how their mate was keeping.

No, not good.

• terms and conditions and privacy policy.
  
  Now, the allegations just hang in the air; a sad full stop on his muddled life after football.
  
  • SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE
  • SHARE ON TWITTER TWEET
  
  
  Graeme Langlands, with a cigar in his hand and the Ashes Cup full of champagne in the other, relaxes in the dressing room after leading Australia to their 22-18 win in the third Rugby League Test at the SCG on July 20, 1974. Photo: John O'Gready/Fairfax Media
  The Langlands family think otherwise, claiming in a statement realised on Sunday: "The family maintains its position that this was an improper prosecution and that the allegations are refutable on the evidence in their possession. The family reserve making further comment to a later time."
  
  Save for the "white boot affair" of the 1975 grand final when he was severely hampered from a painkilling injection that numbed his leg, Langlands rarely put a foot wrong on the field.
  
  • SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE
  • SHARE ON TWITTER TWEET
  
  
  Graeme Langlands at Ansett Terminal on his return from Brisbane on June 2, 1975. Photo: Antony Linsen/Fairfax Media
  Like many sportspeople, though, his life was far less charmed than his career.
  
  On the very first page of Larry Writer's Never Before, Never Again – the book that tells the story of St George's fabled run of 11 consecutive premierships – is a quote from halfback Billy Smith.
  
  "People think we're heroes," Smith said. "But we just think of ourselves as ordinary blokes."
  
  The likes of Johnny Raper, Reg Gasnier and then Langlands and Smith were feted like rockstars in their time. In their pomp, they had the keys to the city and often used them.
  
  But the party ends at some stage and, in life, Langlands struggled like the rest of us slobs on the hill, wrestling family break-ups, financial hardships and then poor health.
  
  He ran pubs, worked in bottle shops and then a bar in Manila in the Philippines in the 1990s. He returned to Sydney in the late 1990s. He became close to the legendary boxing trainer, Johnny Lewis.
  
  They would share coffee each morning, with Langlands storming out if his coffee was too cold or if Lewis had arrived too late after dropping his kids off at school.
  
  "I will say this about him," Lewis said. "He would never talk about what he did on the football field, and he almost seemed embarrassed when someone told him he was a legend or anything along those lines. He was very humble."
  
  Two incidents changed Langlands' life.
  
  In 2008, he fell from the back of ute as part of a motorcade at Suncorp Stadium that honoured members of the team of the century. Those legends in the same vehicle feared he was dead, so heavy was the fall.
  
  He was rushed to hospital in a neck brace and later recovered but friends say his health slowly deteriorated from then on. His doctors also believe concussions suffered during his playing career have played a part.
  
  The second came in 2013 when he was forced to sell his Alexandria home after he was allegedly ripped off by a close friend in a business venture that went sour. Some of his old mates in rugby league were prepared to help him out, but others were not.
  
  Perhaps the saddest chapter in his life was his estrangement from a former partner and their son, Trent, who is a successful personal trainer to some of Sydney's leading sportspeople and celebrities.
  
  He carries his father's nickname but has said on a few occasions that's as far as their association goes.
  
  "I don't know the bloke and never have," Trent told Danny Weidler in the Sun-Herald last year after the sexual assault allegations first surfaced. "It was always just me and mum. For this to happen … I just feel for the alleged victims. What I know for a fact, my beautiful mum has given her life to me and I just want her to be OK."
  
  http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...egations-levelled-at-him-20180121-h0lugo.html

 

[getsmarty]

Remembering Graeme Langlands
NRL.com looks back at some of the highlights from Graeme Langlands' great career


https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2018/01/22/remembering-graeme-langlands/

 

[getsmarty]

Rugby league legend Graeme Langlands may have been unaware of sexual assault allegations against him

• Local News
  +6
  • 
  • 
    
  • In the last few months, a roll call of rugby league legends would shuffle into the nursing home in the Sutherland Shire to see how their mate was keeping.
    
    No, not good.
    
    With each visit they realised that Changa was slipping further away. He couldn't recognise the former teammate or opponent sitting at his bedside, trying to make a connection.
    
    As many often do when dementia and Alzheimer's take hold, they quietly vowed that would be their last visit to see Graeme Langlands, arguably the greatest fullback the game has seen.
    
    It’s also why many of them are convinced the St George icon died in his sleep over the weekend at the age of 76 unaware of the serious sexual assault allegations levelled at him in November last year.
    
    Langlands was charged with six counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 on the Gold Coast, which was related to one alleged event in 1982 between the March 25 and June 30.
    
    His lawyers later told a Brisbane court that he was too ill to defend them because he suffered from "advanced dementia".
    
    Now, the allegations just hang in the air; a sad full stop on his muddled life after football.
    
    The Langlands family think otherwise, claiming in a statement realised on Sunday: "The family maintains its position that this was an improper prosecution and that the allegations are refutable on the evidence in their possession. The family reserve making further comment to a later time."
    
    Save for the "white boot affair" of the 1975 grand final when he was severely hampered from a painkilling injection that numbed his leg, Langlands rarely put a foot wrong on the field.
    
    Like many sportspeople, though, his life was far less charmed than his career.
    
    On the very first page of Larry Writer's Never Before, Never Again – the book that tells the story of St George's fabled run of 11 consecutive premierships – is a quote from halfback Billy Smith.
    
    "People think we're heroes," Smith said. "But we just think of ourselves as ordinary blokes."
    
    The likes of Johnny Raper, Reg Gasnier and then Langlands and Smith were feted like rockstars in their time. In their pomp, they had the keys to the city and often used them.
    
    But the party ends at some stage and, in life, Langlands struggled like the rest of us slobs on the hill, wrestling family break-ups, financial hardships and then poor health.
    
    He ran pubs, worked in bottle shops and then a bar in Manila in the Philippines in the 1990s. He returned to Sydney in the late 1990s. He became close to the legendary boxing trainer, Johnny Lewis.
    
    They would share coffee each morning, with Langlands storming out if his coffee was too cold or if Lewis had arrived too late after dropping his kids off at school.
    
    "I will say this about him," Lewis said. "He would never talk about what he did on the football field, and he almost seemed embarrassed when someone told him he was a legend or anything along those lines. He was very humble."
    
    Two incidents changed Langlands' life.
    
    In 2008, he fell from the back of ute as part of a motorcade at Suncorp Stadium that honoured members of the team of the century. Those legends in the same vehicle feared he was dead, so heavy was the fall.
    
    He was rushed to hospital in a neck brace and later recovered but friends say his health slowly deteriorated from then on. His doctors also believe concussions suffered during his playing career have played a part.
    
    The second came in 2013 when he was forced to sell his Alexandria home after he was allegedly ripped off by a close friend in a business venture that went sour. Some of his old mates in rugby league were prepared to help him out, but others were not.
    
    Perhaps the saddest chapter in his life was his estrangement from a former partner and their son, Trent, who is a successful personal trainer to some of Sydney's leading sportspeople and celebrities.
    
    He carries his father's nickname but has said on a few occasions that's as far as their association goes.
    
    "I don't know the bloke and never have," Trent told Danny Weidler in the Sun-Herald last year after the sexual assault allegations first surfaced. "It was always just me and mum. For this to happen … I just feel for the alleged victims. What I know for a fact, my beautiful mum has given her life to me and I just want her to be OK."
    
    
    
  • http://www.theleader.com.au/story/5...-a-life-less-charmed-than-his-career/?cs=1507

 

[Seoul Dragon]

Goodbye Chang.

An out and out champion and legend when the terms get thrown around too loosely.

Who could forget Billy's Ball, the prodigious sidestep, and of course, the "try" in France with Chang flying through the air in a way all thought was impossible.

RIP Chang
Simply the best .......

 

[Gareth67]

Just finished reading an article on Changa that Ray Chesterson wrote in today's Tele. Ray did excellent job of bringing the memories flooding back , so much so , that it was like stepping back into that wonderful era . He told of his hardships of the field , whilst also mentioning the allegations , by so doing he was not glossing over anything .
However this was done with tact , as it should be . His article will always have Changa's halo shining brightly .

 

[Drakon]

Just finished reading an article on Changa that Ray Chesterson wrote in today's Tele. Ray did excellent job of bringing the memories flooding back , so much so , that it was like stepping back into that wonderful era . He told of his hardships of the field , whilst also mentioning the allegations , by so doing he was not glossing over anything .
However this was done with tact , as it should be . His article will always have Changa's halo shining brightly .

Here's a You Tube link to Langland's 'greatest try never scored'.

It still leaves me in awe.

 

[Willow]

Here's a You Tube link to Langland's 'greatest try never scored'.

It still leaves me in awe.

The commentator saying, "I reckon he was just offside" lol. More like a metre behind the kicker. Would have definitely been given the green light with today's technology.

Such a brillant try, and typical of Chang. The last player to captain-coach Australia, and so many fond memories. He certainly gave a lot to the game.

But he never talked himself up. I had the great priviledge of meeting him through his publisher. some years ago. He liked talking about footy, and had no issues shaking hands with well-wishers, but I noticed he wouldn't talk.as soon as someone said he was the best.

But he would have been the only one who doubted his greatness, the facts below speak volumes.

Changa: The greatest player of all time?
Fullback. Centre. Captain-coach 1972-75.
NSW rep (1962-75).
Aust rep (1963-75).
In Rugby League circles, the name 'Langlands' is synonymous with greatness.
The last man to captain-coach Australia, Graeme Langlands has been described by some as the greatest player of all time.
Born in 1941, 'Changa' came to Saints from Wollongong following impressive displays for Country Firsts and NSW.
Initially, Wollongong agreed to release Langlands for £3000. But Saints tried to negotiate a transfer deal where the Wollongong club would be paid £1000 up front, plus £1000 every time Langlands played an international. Wollongong rejected the offer and took the £3000 one-off transfer fee instead.
History shows that Langlands represented Australia no less than 90 times, posting a record 189 points (17t, 69g) and playing in 34 Tests.
He was first selected for Australia soon after joining St George, touring with the 1963-64 Kangaroos. He scored a record 20 points (2t, 7g) in Australia's 50-12 whitewash of Great Britain in the Test match at Swinton.
He later played in four Grand Final winning sides, including 1966 when he kicked seven goals in Saints' win over Balmain.
Langlands was the competition's leading point scorer in 1971 and 1973. In an outstanding career, he was the club's top point scorer in first grade on 10 occasions: 1963 (107points), 1965 (161), 1966 (126), 1969 (166), 1970 (123), 1971 (196), 1972 (149), 1973 (183), 1974 (77), and 1975 (73).
After being recalled into the Australian side in 1974, Langlands played a magnificent match to win the Ashes and was carried aloft from the field with the huge SCG crowd chanting his name.
The greatest point scorer in the history of St George retired in 1976. In the same year, he was awarded a Member of the British Empire (MBE) medal for his contribution to Rugby League and club life.
Perhaps one of the greatest honours a player can receive is that which is bestowed upon him by his peers. In 1985, Rugby League Week arranged an Australian team reunion. Entitled, 'The Masters', it included 'the 13 best' players since 1970. Amongst them were no less than eight former Australian captains, including Graeme Langlands. When it came to the 'team photo', 'Changa' was late to take his seat and there was only one spot left, the one in the centre of the front row and the position reserved for the team captain. Those in attendance had spontaneously and unanimously decided that the captain's spot for this legendary team belonged to Graeme Langlands.
In 1999, Graeme Langlands was named a Rugby League immortal.

Graeme Langlands MBE
'Chang', 'Changa'
St George
(c), (capt-coach)
1963-76, 227 games.
86t, 648g (1554pts)

http://jubileeavenue.com.au/history/history_players_l.php

 

[Gareth67]

Here's a You Tube link to Langland's 'greatest try never scored'.

It still leaves me in awe.

Drakon after watching that , I now know where the old saying ' Johnny on the Spot ' comes from . Perhaps it should be changed to ' Changa on the Spot ' ?

 

[FlameThrower]

JANUARY 21 2018 - 7:04PM
PRINT
LICENSE ARTICLE
Rugby league legend Graeme Langlands didn't know about the sexual assault allegations levelled at him

• Andrew Webster
  • CONTACT VIA EMAIL
    
  • FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK

212 reading now

Show comments



In the last few months, a roll call of rugby league legends would shuffle into the nursing home in the Sutherland Shire to see how their mate was keeping.

No, not good.

• terms and conditions and privacy policy.
  
  Now, the allegations just hang in the air; a sad full stop on his muddled life after football.
  • SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE
  • SHARE ON TWITTER TWEET
  
  
  Graeme Langlands, with a cigar in his hand and the Ashes Cup full of champagne in the other, relaxes in the dressing room after leading Australia to their 22-18 win in the third Rugby League Test at the SCG on July 20, 1974. Photo: John O'Gready/Fairfax Media
  The Langlands family think otherwise, claiming in a statement realised on Sunday: "The family maintains its position that this was an improper prosecution and that the allegations are refutable on the evidence in their possession. The family reserve making further comment to a later time."
  
  Save for the "white boot affair" of the 1975 grand final when he was severely hampered from a painkilling injection that numbed his leg, Langlands rarely put a foot wrong on the field.
  • SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE
  • SHARE ON TWITTER TWEET
  
  
  Graeme Langlands at Ansett Terminal on his return from Brisbane on June 2, 1975. Photo: Antony Linsen/Fairfax Media
  Like many sportspeople, though, his life was far less charmed than his career.
  
  On the very first page of Larry Writer's Never Before, Never Again – the book that tells the story of St George's fabled run of 11 consecutive premierships – is a quote from halfback Billy Smith.
  
  "People think we're heroes," Smith said. "But we just think of ourselves as ordinary blokes."
  
  The likes of Johnny Raper, Reg Gasnier and then Langlands and Smith were feted like rockstars in their time. In their pomp, they had the keys to the city and often used them.
  
  But the party ends at some stage and, in life, Langlands struggled like the rest of us slobs on the hill, wrestling family break-ups, financial hardships and then poor health.
  
  He ran pubs, worked in bottle shops and then a bar in Manila in the Philippines in the 1990s. He returned to Sydney in the late 1990s. He became close to the legendary boxing trainer, Johnny Lewis.
  
  They would share coffee each morning, with Langlands storming out if his coffee was too cold or if Lewis had arrived too late after dropping his kids off at school.
  
  "I will say this about him," Lewis said. "He would never talk about what he did on the football field, and he almost seemed embarrassed when someone told him he was a legend or anything along those lines. He was very humble."
  
  Two incidents changed Langlands' life.
  
  In 2008, he fell from the back of ute as part of a motorcade at Suncorp Stadium that honoured members of the team of the century. Those legends in the same vehicle feared he was dead, so heavy was the fall.
  
  He was rushed to hospital in a neck brace and later recovered but friends say his health slowly deteriorated from then on. His doctors also believe concussions suffered during his playing career have played a part.
  
  The second came in 2013 when he was forced to sell his Alexandria home after he was allegedly ripped off by a close friend in a business venture that went sour. Some of his old mates in rugby league were prepared to help him out, but others were not.
  
  Perhaps the saddest chapter in his life was his estrangement from a former partner and their son, Trent, who is a successful personal trainer to some of Sydney's leading sportspeople and celebrities.
  
  He carries his father's nickname but has said on a few occasions that's as far as their association goes.
  
  "I don't know the bloke and never have," Trent told Danny Weidler in the Sun-Herald last year after the sexual assault allegations first surfaced. "It was always just me and mum. For this to happen … I just feel for the alleged victims. What I know for a fact, my beautiful mum has given her life to me and I just want her to be OK."
  
  http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...egations-levelled-at-him-20180121-h0lugo.html

Not that impressed by Webster’s editorial.. Headline grab..and did not like the story about his estranged son..

 

[The_Team_Won]

R.I.P. Graeme Changa LanglandsThe Greatest Dragon Of Them All

 

[Drakon]

Graeme Langlands was modest, magnificent and Australia’s best to lace on a boot, writes Ray Chesterton
Ray Chesterton, The Daily Telegraph
January 22, 2018 4:05pm
Subscriber only
WHEN the elite rugby league stars of the time came in twos and threes to the centre of a deserted Sydney Cricket Ground in the 1980s for photos to celebrate their selection in a Masters Team chosen by a sporting magazine, they left one place vacant on the dais.

The traditional captain’s position in the centre of the front row was empty. Until Graeme Langlands emerged from the dressing room and sat there — somewhat stunned.

No captain had been chosen in a team that included Test and Kangaroo leaders like Bobby Fulton, Ron Coote, Bob McCarthy and Arthur Beetson but by tacit and genuine appreciation of Langlands’ career and status the players made their own choice.

Graeme Langlands is chaired off the field after a Test match.
It remains one of the most genuine acknowledgements of a colleague’s sporting standing.

“I didn’t know it was happening. I was a bit stunned,” Langlands always remembered. “That was nice.”

That was often as close to fulsome praise as Langlands ever got. His unchallenged fluency of motion on a football field was not always duplicated away from it. He was as modest as he was magnificent.

FULTON: ‘Langlands the best all-round player I’ve seen’

VALE: Rugby League Immortal Changa Langlands dies

A wondrous wraith whose brilliance illuminated rugby league for more than a decade but whose light dimmed as he often struggled with his post-career life.

For all of his flamboyance on the field, Langlands could be painfully shy and introverted when not around people he trusted.

Graeme Langlands escapes the grips of a defender.
Once a year we gather at the Prophet restaurant in Surry Hills for a dinner whose guest list includes dominant media tsar Alan Jones, a disparate variety of former footballers, boxing trainer Johnny Lewis, and on occasions, politicians and prominent medical and legal practitioners.

Langlands told me he stopped coming to the dinner, because being complimented so lavishly made him squirm. If they have newspapers in whatever Elysian Fields he now coaches, he will writhe when he reads that he was Australia’s greatest rugby league player.

It’s a narrow margin and judges may have to go to the bunker for replays but Langlands sets an impossible standard of achievement.



0:00
/
0:00
Loaded: 0%
Progress: 0%

Rothfield says Langlands was 'Too sick to defend himself'
Those who watched his career unfold in all of its brilliant acclaim and glory along with the contrasting train wrecks of his life way from the playing field, it’s impossible to envisage anyone who was more gifted, more courageous, had greater longevity and was more committed to rugby league.

Some players keep scrapbooks. Langlands had a library.

He orchestrated some of the most memorable and poignant moments in Australian rugby league.

In the 1974 series against England Langlands was captain-coach for the first Test. He scored eight points in 12-6 win and was dropped as a player. Great Britain won the second Test and Langlands was recalled for the third.

John Raper, Mal Meninga and Graeme Langlands with the Rugby League World Cup.
He scored the winning try and the capacity SCG crowd to a man stood and chanted “Changa, Changa, Changa” to his acute embarrassment.

“Go and do a lap of honour,” said his teammate John O’Neill.

“You come too,” said Chang.

“No,” said O’Neill. “They want you not me.”

He made the on field success look easy. Too easy for French referee Georges Jameau in the 1972 world cup final against England in Lyon.

In a pre-planned move Australia’s half Dennis Ward kicked the ball downfield from near halfway. From nowhere, Langlands appeared, diving with his arms outstretched to take the ball on his fingertips in the in-goal for the most brilliantly unforgettable tries ever scored.

After seeing TV replays, Jameau apologised for wrongly ruling Langlands off-side. He just couldn’t believe any player could be that pre-emptive.

Only on a football field could Langlands find the freedom for his startling talents and peace of mind. Away from the filed circumstances were often cruel.

Somehow he could never quite co-ordinate it all into a balanced lifestyle.

He was often in financial straits. Money provided by fundraisers seemed to evaporate and he lost his house last year after an ill-judged investment. Last year there were unsavoury allegations of indecent treatment of a girl under 16 in the 1980s.

“I seem to have only been comfortable playing football,” he once told friends.

The seemingly inevitable tragic overtones that scarred so much of Langlands’ life away from the rugby league arena he ruled so majestically, were underwritten by his unexpected illness that deprived his admirers from saying how wonderful he had been.

“Chang was the greatest rugby league player I’ve ever seen in all departments of the game. He didn’t have a weak link,’ says former Souths and Australian captain Johnny Sattler.

“He was a very tough warrior and the captain-coach of larrikins.’’