Sport Confidential: Why Allan Langer almost walked away from Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane great Allan Langer has opened up on how close he came to walking away from his beloved club and why. All the details in SPORT CONFIDENTIAL.
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Brisbane legend Allan Langer has revealed how close he came to walking away from his beloved Broncos during the club’s horror years.
The 258-game champion has been a long-serving staffer at the Broncos and was an assistant to coach Anthony Seibold, who steered Brisbane to their first ever wooden spoon during a disastrous 2020 campaign.
Even after the departure of Seibold, the Broncos had more woes, narrowly avoiding back-to-back wooden spoons after finishing 14th last season in Kevin Walters’ first year in charge at Red Hill.
The club’s greatest halfback, Langer is regarded as the heart and soul of the Broncos with his larrikin nature and fun-loving personality which lifts the spirits of Brisbane players at training on a daily basis.
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Brisbane’s stunning resurgence this season has once again ignited the spark in ‘Alfie’, who admits he considered quitting in moments of self-doubt.
“The last few years have been a nightmare,” Langer said. “It’s been really tough.
“Some people have walked away from the club and I’ll admit, some nights, after a few drinks and some tough losses, I thought maybe I should walk away too.
“But I’m glad I hung in there and we’ve come back this year. The off-season was so tough and it’s made the boys fitter and stronger.
“They have gelled as a group. Adam Reynolds and Kurt Capewell have been enormous for this place ... it’s wonderful to see some happy times back at the Broncos.”
KEVVIE’S BOLD PREMIERSHIP CALL
Broncos coach Kevin Walters has declared he will bring Brisbane’s seventh premiership to Red Hill – with a catch.
A buoyant Walters has no doubts he can be Brisbane’s second coach to deliver premiership glory to the success-starved club, which has not won a title since 2006.
Wayne Bennett is the only Broncos’ coach to have delivered a title at the club, leading Brisbane to all six of its premierships.
Now Walters believes he can become the first person to be involved with Broncos premierships as a player and coach, he just doesn’t know when.
“We certainly can,” a jubilant Walters told NRL360 host Paul Kent. “I’m not sure when it’s going to happen but it will happen. I’m putting it out in the universe, that it will happen.
“I’m not sure when it is, the players and coaching staff will decide that. But it’s going to happen, get ready.”
Having played in five of Brisbane’s six premiership teams, Walters knows what it takes to get the job done.
WHY TITANS REJECTED PRIDE JERSEY
Manly’s pride-jersey fiasco has become one of the most explosive topics in Australian sport, but the Sea Eagles weren’t the only NRL club to field an approach to take the field with a rainbow-coloured strip.
Sport Confidential can reveal the Gold Coast Titans were also sounded out by apparel manufacturer Dynasty Sports to wear an ‘Everyone in League’ jersey.
Dynasty Sports provides jerseys to four NRL clubs, Manly, Cronulla, the Cowboys and Titans, as well as the Tongan national rugby league team.
When Dynasty bosses floated the concept with Sea Eagles hierarchy, who liked the idea, they also reached out to the Titans to gauge their interest in a pride jersey to support the LGBTQ community.
It is understood the Titans, like Manly, saw merit in the concept, but politely knocked back the proposal due to a number of unique designs already in Gold Coast’s jersey stable.
A Titans spokesman said the Gold Coast are already supporters of several communities via their range of jersey designs.
“As a club, we commit early to the playing jerseys we will wear across the 25-round NRL season,” the Titans official said.
“This always includes a home-and-away strip and we are committed to acknowledging our First Nations people each year with our Indigenous jersey.
“This year we acknowledged our Pasifika community through a specialty design, while next season we will add an ANZAC round jersey and a Magic Round jersey to our suite.
“In terms of specific jerseys, we consult with a range of stakeholders around the design.
“A good example of this was our 2022 Pasifika jersey, which was designed with the help of our playing group and our Titans Cultural Collective to ensure it represented and reflected the communities involved.
“Inclusion is a big focus for us as a club and our programs across the community reflect this.”
Manly’s pride jersey has polarised debate but Broncos and Queensland Origin star Kurt Capewell backed the concept.
“I will get behind anything like that,” Capewell said.
“I think it’s a shame it (the Manly furore) has taken away from Women in League round because it’s a special round for everyone in the league.
“It’s awesome to celebrate anyone who is a part of the game on or off the field, whether it’s players, officials or sponsors.”
ORIGIN BLOW FOR FREDDY’S BLUES
The NSW Origin side is set to suffer a blow with highly-rated football manager Peter Parr considering walking away from Brad Fittler’s Blues.
Parr will start in a new role on Monday as football-operations boss of the Knights, bringing to an end his 19-year tenure with the Cowboys, where he was head of football during North Queensland’s premiership win in 2015.
Parr has been a key member of NSW’s off-field hierarchy, helping Fittler to three series wins in five years, but he is unlikely to be on deck with the Blues in 2023 due to his commitments overseeing Newcastle’s football program.
“I need to talk to ‘Freddy’ (Fittler) more about that (his NSW future),” Parr said.
“Over the last couple of years I have been responsible for the pathways programs for the men’s and women’s Origin teams.
“I’ve managed the men’s side for a few years now, but it’s fair to say it will be doubtful whether I could find the time to continue in the role.
“Next year is a fair way off so I will talk to Freddy first and see where it goes.”
Parr is relishing the prospect of joining the Knights and re-uniting with Newcastle skipper Kalyn Ponga, who made his NRL debut at the Cowboys.
“Kalyn left the Cowboys when he was quite young and he has become a key person in the Knights organisation,” he said.
“I am looking forward to working with him and I will be making sure his health is the utmost priority after his recent concussions.
“He is a big key to any future success at the Knights.
“I leave with a heavy heart, I’ve had a great two decades at the Cowboys, but there’s a lot of synergies between North Queensland and Newcastle as one-team towns.”
V’LANDYS MAKES TITANIC CALL
ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys has rubbished suggestions the strife-torn Titans do not have an NRL future on the Gold Coast.
The Titans are in danger of claiming their second wooden spoon in four seasons and Gold Coast’s latest season of disaster will reinforce the view that no sporting team can ever flourish on the Glitter Strip.
There are fears the Titans would be under threat if co-owners Rebecca Frizelle and Darryl Kelly walked away from the club, but V’landys lauded the Gold Coast’s leadership structure.
Frizelle and Kelly won the battle for the Gold Coast licence in 2017 before V’landys’ tenure as ARL Commission chairman.
“I have absolutely no concerns about the future of the Gold Coast Titans,” V’landys said.
“They have some of the best owners in rugby league in Rebecca Frizelle and Darryl Kelly.
“Their chairman Dennis Watt and their CEO Steve Mitchell are as astute as anybody I have come across in my time in sport.
“When you have those four people involved in the club, I do not have any issues with the state of the Titans whatsoever. I support them 100 per cent.
“Those four people bring outstanding brains and commercial acumen and I wish the NRL competition had more executives like them.”
MADDEN’S IRE OF THE TIGERS
The new Wests Tigers regime of Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall are in danger of losing rising playmaker Jock Madden.
Sport Confidential can reveal Madden will quit the club if the Tigers persist with maligned Luke Brooks as their first-choice halfback alongside Adam Doueihi and Jackson Hastings at the scrumbase.
Off-contract at season’s end, Madden’s preference is to stay at the Tigers and the former Australian Schoolboys star ideally wants to be the main man in the No.7 jumper.
But if Sheens opts for the inconsistent Brooks as his chief shot-caller in 2023, then Madden will head for the Concord exits.
The 22-year-old has played 11 top-grade games since his debut last year and believes he is ready to step up as a starting halfback on a regular basis in the NRL.
POACHING THREAT FOR BOOM COWBOY
North Queensland’s stunning resurgence this year has made their rising talents hot property and Scott Drinkwater is the latest Cowboy in the sights of NRL rivals.
Three NRL rivals, including Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins, have made inquiries with Drinkwater’s management to sign the classy five-eighth or fullback for the 2024 season.
The Dolphins attempted to lure Drinkwater to Redcliffe for their foundation season, but they were met with a stern hands-off edict from the Cowboys, who have the playmaker under lock and key for 2023.
But the Dolphins are refusing to go away and hope to strike when Drinkwater becomes a free agent from November 1.
The 25-year-old has played the best football of his career this season in the Cowboys’ charge to the top two and North Queensland will come under pressure to table an extension for Drinkwater.
HOLBROOK’S SILENT TREATMENT
Titans coach Justin Holbrook has experimented with silent treatment in an attempt to snap an eight-game losing streak.
As pressure mounts on Holbrook at the Gold Coast, the third-year coach turned to some wacky methods at training this week.
For a number of drills, Holbrook banned the Titans from talking and they ran through set plays completely silent.
When one of the players spoke, Holbrook was quick to tell him to be quiet. This went on for a few attacking sets.
Sport Confidential has watched a lot of training sessions over a combined 40 years covering the NRL and can’t remember seeing similar scenes. Coaches are usually urging players to communicate more, not less.
The proof will be in the pudding at Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday when the Titans host Canberra.
TITANS TESTED AFTER VAPE-GATE
Drug testers descended on the Gold Coast Titans in the wake of Kevin Proctor’s axing for vaping.
Sport Integrity Australia officials were spotted at Titans training on Tuesday, the day after Proctor was given his marching orders in bizarre circumstances.
While the testing is believed to have been random, it was a strange coincidence the day after the Proctor scandal.
There is no suggestion Proctor was vaping an illicit substance and there are no rules that prevent players from using the smoking alternative.
Titans coach Justin Holbrook said he was unsure if any of his other players vaped.
“No idea,” he said. “I don’t vape and I don’t recommend it.”
NRL BIG WIG RETURNS TO COAST
Former Roosters and Titans heavy-hitter Brian Canavan has returned to the Gold Coast club.
Canavan, a former CEO of the Roosters and COO at the Gold Coast, has been hired as a consultant to run his eye over the Titans’ junior pathways system as the club looks to shore up its future.
Titans coach Justin Holbrook insisted Canavan was not reviewing the struggling NRL arm of the club.
“He’s working on our junior pathways,” Holbrook said.
“We’ve done a really good job the last three years getting our junior programs up and running and ‘BC’ is experienced at overseeing those things.
“We’ve got him coming in and making sure what we’ve got in place is strong. We all know what a great nursery of juniors we’ve got here.”
SPOTTED
Broncos chairman Karl Morris fishing in remote far north Queensland and hunting for Wi-Fi to watch Brisbane smash Parramatta last week.
SHOOSH
Who will be the next domino to fall at the Gold Coast Titans? The NRL rumour mill has been in overdrive that two key figures are in danger of being axed.
‘HEADSPLITTER’ READY FOR KIWI AMBUSH
He produced Australian boxing’s knockout of the year so far and now Issac ‘Headsplitter’ Hardman is ready for more fireworks.
Queenslander Hardman (13-1, 11KO) has agreed to fight unbeaten Kiwi sensation Andrei Mikhailovich (19-0, 11KO) in what shapes as a middleweight blockbuster.
A date and venue has yet to be finalised but the hard-punching duo are likely to lock horns around October this year.
Hardman’s career suffered a major setback when he was clobbered by Michael Zerafa in April but he bounced back with a brutal first-round knockout of Beau Hartas on the undercard of Jai Opetaia’s world-title win earlier this month.
Hardman’s knockout of Hartas was so savage that footage of his dynamite right hand went viral with American boxing fans on ESPN.
Mikhailovich, however, will be a far more formidable opponent. Born in Russia, the ‘Renegade’ has won two fights in the last six weeks, including a lethal TKO of Ernesto Espana at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena in June.
The duo are two of the biggest punchers in Australasian boxing and it would surprise if both men are still standing at the end.
WARRIORS SWOOP ON REBORN BRONCO
Te Maire Martin is poised to quit the Broncos with the reborn Brisbane playmaker in talks with the Warriors as part of a straight-swap transfer deal with whiz-kid Reece Walsh.
News Corp can reveal the Warriors are in the advanced stages of negotiations with Martin and have tabled a three-year deal to help offset the loss of fullback sensation Walsh to the Broncos next season.
Martin has been a revelation for the Broncos this season, making a triumphant fightback from a career-threatening brain bleed at former club the Cowboys to play his first NRL game in three years at Red Hill.
When first-choice fullback Tesi Niu injured his hamstring in April, the off-contract Martin stepped up superbly in the No. 1 jumper, helping kickstart Brisbane’s form burst and prompting Broncos bosses to discuss a two-year extension.
But Brisbane’s signing of Walsh earlier this month after his shock request for a release from the Warriors for family reasons has left Martin on shaky contractual terrain at Red Hill.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters confirmed he is resigned to losing Martin, saying the rejuvenated 26-year-old doesn’t deserve to languish in the Hostplus Cup as Walsh and Tesi Niu battle it out for Brisbane’s fullback spot next season.
“I don’t want to block Te Maire’s development so if he gets a longer-term deal elsewhere, that’s great for him,” Walters said.
“In an ideal world, we would keep him, but the reality is Te Maire deserves to be playing regularly in the NRL and I’m not sure if that’s going to happen here.
“I would love to hang onto him, he has been fantastic for us, but it’s going to be difficult.
“With Reece Walsh coming in and Tesi coming back from injury and playing as well as he is, Te Maire unfortunately may get squeezed out.
“It’s not a case of us not wanting him, but I’m confident there will be better opportunities elsewhere for Te Maire.”
It is understood Martin was shopped to the Sharks by his management, but with Cronulla battling salary-cap issues, the Warriors have emerged as the frontrunners to snare the Broncos utility back.
The Warriors have lost playmaking trio Walsh, Kodi Nikorima and Chanel Harris-Tavita for next season and the signing of Martin would give the embattled Kiwi club some experience in the halves.
Once dubbed the next Benji Marshall, the New Zealand-born Martin has compiled four Tests for the Kiwis and played five-eighth for the Cowboys in their 2017 grand-final loss to Melbourne.
Martin’s Brisbane debut in April helped ignite the Broncos’ season.
With Martin as fullback, they won seven straight games to charge into the top eight, prompting NRL halfback Immortal Andrew Johns to praise the Kiwi playmaker’s composure and toughness at the back.
The Warriors hope to complete the deal within the week. While Martin has been slick at fullback, Walters believes he belongs at the scrumbase.
“To be honest, I see Te Maire primarily as a five-eighth,” he said.
“He has done a great job for us at fullback, but I feel six or seven are his best positions and we are well covered there in the halves. Ezra Mam is a long-termer at five-eighth and we have our captain ‘Reyno’ (Adam Reynolds) at halfback.
“Te Maire may leave the nest here but the nest is always open if he wants to come back.
“It’s been a great two-way relationship. We helped get Te Maire back into the NRL and he has repaid that with some great form this year.”
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