The legend of Alfie: Allan Langer opens up about his life in rugby league

ALLAN Langer talks about the fun and frivolity of his life in league, the great characters he met along the way and opens up on his one regret.

Allan Langer at his Caloundra restaurant Mooo Char and grill. Pic Megan Slade.

RUGBY league great Allan Langer is a grandfather but he is still a boy at heart.

As the Broncos bid to return to the peaks he often reached, Alfie talks about the fun and frivolity of his life in league and some of the great characters he has met along the way.

He also opens up on his one regret – not giving up the punt.

Your skills were honed by a million games of backyard football. Do you think the lack of backyard games is stunting the development of modern playmakers?

Definitely. Technology has taken over. Phones and computer games are keeping kids inside. All the kids in my day played football or cricket in the backyard until the sun went down. It stops young guys from improving their skills.

How did the backyard make you a better player?

Toughness. You play against bigger brothers and bigger kids around the neighbourhood. I just think it helped my tackling style. You learnt in the backyard how to bring bigger guys down and how to protect yourself.

You were barely ever injured so you reckon the backyard helped you learn how to fall?

Yes. When to take the tackle. Knowing how to get out of tackles and how to take hits.

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You are still regarded as the only man who can ring Wayne Bennett at 2am and say “we made you”. How do you get away with it?

I don’t like using Uber so sometimes I like to see whether Wayne is available that time of night. Otherwise I do it just to discuss a few old football memories. He loves it. If he does not answer the phone he will ring back the next day to see what the problem was.

Allan Langer and Wayne Bennett watch over a Broncos training session. Picture: Jono Searle.

Did you blue with Wayne?

Not a real lot. I wasn’t a great communicator but I have never had any problems with Wayne. His decision always stood. Sometimes we would stretch the rules a few times in games with things we wanted to do. But I have never seen anyone more excited to be coming back to the Broncos this year.

Wayne never drank. Do you ever wonder what he might be like if he ever had a few?

It might make him smile a bit more, which would be nice. But in saying that he gets pissed on the atmosphere around the players. That is one thing about his coaching style. He will always let the players have a drink and a good time.

People regard you as one of the funniest characters in league. Who made you laugh the most?

Probably Tommy Raudonikis at the Jets when I first started. I still catch up with him and from the time you see him to when he leaves, the enjoyment you get out of his company is fantastic.

They must have been funny days when the players used to pinch Tommy’s soft drinks off the back of his drinks cart?

Any little thing he used to blow up at and made us pay on the paddock. He drove the Tristram’s soft drinks and we would steal them and tip them out — they were pretty ordinary drinks. He would come out and we had been playing euchre all night and blow up because there would be soft drinks gone. It was a sight to see.

Allan Langer celebrates winning the 1998 NRL grand final with the Broncos.

You really seem to be in your element when you are organising get-togethers in State of Origin camp?

We call it Alf’s World, the nights out I organise. They are good times. We cannot tell you what happens at Alf’s World, but we have a good time.

What time do they finish?

There is normally a curfew but curfews are meant to be broken.

Would you have still found a way to have a good time if you were playing the modern era or would you have had to adjust?

I think I would have had to adjust, especially during the week and being out. With the mobile phones and everything these days you really have to watch what you do.

What’s it like being a runner? Do you ever have any anxious moments?

Your only worry is players getting injured or knocked out. Even when it's the opposition, I hate seeing players get injured. I enjoy it. It’s the best place to watch a game from.

What has been your most stressful moment?

Jharal Yow Yeh’s injury (broken leg). It was one of the worst injuries I had seen, and for a player on the way up to cop such a dreadful injury was so sad to see him go out that way. He is such a great lad. Just looking down and seeing how distressed he was. Having a look at his ankle … he would move like that five or six times a game and one bad fall and that happens.

It’s been more than a decade since you played. Do you still miss it?

I can’t say I don’t, but I am lucky enough to be involved in the Broncos and Queensland sides which keeps me in the sport. If I did not have that I think I would miss it immensely.

Did you ever want to be a senior rugby league coach?

No. I was happy to be involved at the Broncos but never wanted a senior coach’s job. I haven’t got enough hair to pull out. It is a tough job to be a father figure to 50 players. There is so much work apart from just turning up to training sessions. It’s a tough gig.

We have seen the fun-loving side of you over the years. Is there another side of you?

There is a sombre, quiet side of me. You cannot be upbeat all the time. Sometimes you need that time just to sit around at home and go for walks to relax. You can’t do it 24-7. I tried to do it for a number of years but it takes its toll. I tried to be the fun-loving person but it is hard to produce that every day of the week.

Allan Langer on the charge for Queensland in State of Origin.

Your restaurant does great meals — you were saying you run it like a football team.

I want to see people come here and enjoy their lunch and the experience of it. You treat your staff like your footy team. You want them to work hard and enjoy it. You get a lot of enjoyment out of people having a good time at your restaurant.

Who would be the footballer you would like to be if you came back now?

Probably Cameron Smith or Johnathan Thurston — great players and great people. They are getting on but they can still stick with the younger guys. Great players and very consistent.

Cooper Cronk is also a great story isn’t he, having played 60 games for Brisbane Norths before cracking it with the Storm?

He is, and the thing I like about him is he is still working on his game and trying to get better. That’s the thing about the top players. They put in extra. Darren Lockyer in his last year did these extras, and showed the young blokes what it took to be a player of his calibre. It might be sprint training, or physios or kicking. You never have to ask guys like Thurston and Cronk to do extra. They just do it.

What is the toughest part about retiring as a footballer?

You miss your mates and certainly the income. It is tough. I struggled for years. Playing in a team sport, you do struggle when you are finished.

When you say struggled, do you mean financially or with your mates?

A bit of both I think. When I finished with the Broncos I played in England for two years. But coming back the next few years you do not have that financial income. Your lifestyle changes. You have to get used to it and it takes a bit of getting used to.

So do you have instances where you have to cut things out of your life?

At the end of the day I was probably my own worst enemy with my punting. That is something I don’t talk about too much but it cost me a lot of my lifestyle as well.

Have you given it away?

I have given it away but it cost me most of my life playing footy. It is one of those things where you look back and wish you had never done it. I had good times doing it so it is a bit of a Catch 22. It cost me the lifestyle I could have had.

Are you OK now?

I am now, but I struggled through a period dealing with it for a long while. It was one of those things where you try to hide from too many people and it just catches up with you.

Allan Langer says he has given away punting. Picture: Megan Slade

Were you betting every week or day?

I was betting most days, partly through boredom, partly through excitement and the thrill to win. The competitiveness just comes out. You are losing, you try to get it back and once you start doing that you never get it back.

At what point did you give it up?

You get to a point where your family has had enough of it. You have to knock it on your head otherwise you lose your family.

What would be your advice to young players about gambling?

You must know your limits. My limits started off OK but they just exploded.

When you were well paid in Super League you could bet in the thousands couldn’t you?

Definitely. Easily. I did. I was a $5 punter at the beautiful Bundamba races, then it certainly turns quickly when you are earning money.

When you first started at the Broncos you were on a $1500-a-win bonus. That is big bucks for a kid from Ipswich, wasn’t it?

It was. Even when I first signed with the Broncos I was on $10,000 a year for the first two years and I remember thinking “Gee, how good is this?” I finished at the Ipswich City Council and moved to Brisbane. I look back on my career and I had a great time and made many good friends. My only regret is punting but you can’t change it now.

Did you have any big wins?

I had a lot of big wins but you can’t beat the big losses. As they say, a punter
only tells you when he wins. You don’t hear about the losses. There were plenty of them.

This is one of the first times you have spoken about this publicly. Are you comfortable with that?

I try to be honest about it. At the end of the day I look back and think of what I could be doing with that money if I still had it. But that’s life. It is one of those things you live with.