The Man and His Playing Style
Langlands had an unhappy childhood brought up by an alcoholic father. On-field he could be hot-headed and petulant in his early career, though he matured into a fine leader. Fundamentally taciturn and introspective he was not given to pre or post-match speeches as captain but demonstrated an uncompromising leadership style via his will-to-win and a preparedness to be mean and ruthless if required.
He was a graceful, balanced runner of the ball, long-striding and fast. His trademark sidestep off either foot has become legendary in the Australian game. He would almost undetectably feint one way then make a 2m leap the other way at full speed taking him diagonally through a gap and into the clear.
Read more about this topic: Graeme Langlands
Famous quotes containing the words man, playing and/or style:
“Of all God’s creatures there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with a cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
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“Hemingway was a prisoner of his style. No one can talk like the characters in Hemingway except the characters in Hemingway. His style in the wildest sense finally killed him.”
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