AFL Draft Pick Me: Kyle Langford has overcome rejection to be this year’s draft bolter
PICK ME: AFTER being told he was too small and skinny, Kyle Langford is set to be this year’s draft bolter as Collingwood circles.
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TOO skinny, too small and lacks penetration in his kicking.
That was the feedback delivered to Kyle Langford when he was cut from the under-16 Vic Metro squad two years ago.
Now 19kg heavier, 12cm taller and rated the second-best kick at the draft combine, the Northern Knights utility is this year’s draft bolter.
Langford burnt Darcy Moore in a defensive forward role to open his season and he could join the father-son swingman, with the versatile talent hot on the Magpies’ radar at pick five.
“It’s pretty hard feedback to get when my weight was out of my control at that age,” Langford said of his 2012 rejection.
“I knew I could potentially be playing at that level, but I was just too small.
“I’ve grown into my body and put on a lot more weight and I guess it’s also been psychological because I didn’t really believe in myself and now I do.
“That’s coming out in my football and I’m taking the game on a little bit more.”
Underlining his versatility, Langford played as a roaming forward in the TAC Cup, was used in defence by Vic Metro and just about everywhere by Ivanhoe Grammar.
“I was really happy with my year — I don’t think I’ve had a season like that — I put everything on the table,” he said.
“I started with a bang, I kicked two bags of five to start off the season, which held me in good stead.”
Langford — who has watched the movie Draft Day four times to try and settle his November nerves — doesn’t turn 18 until December and has drawn comparisons to 2013 Knights teammate Marcus Bontempelli, but its Hawthorn sharpshooter Jack Gunston whom he models his game on.
“Kyle reads the play well, he takes lots of marks, he gets there early and can glide across the front of packs,” Knights talent manager Peter Kennedy said.
“He’s got a good vertical jump, cat-like reflexes and he’s he got that mix of speed off the mark and aerobic endurance.
“He plays well in big games and when the stakes were high, he really enjoyed that environment”.
As with Bontempelli last year, Langford missed All-Australian selection but returned to TAC Cup level in sizzling form, forcing recruiters to reassess their wish lists.
His case was further strengthened at October’s draft combine by recording the ninth-best time in the agility run and elite results in the 20m sprint (2.98sec) and beep tests (level 14.6).
“Before the end of the season he was an end-of-first round, top-of-second round pick and then, similar to Bontempelli, he’s been talked about by some clubs in the single figures,” Kennedy said.
“I can see him playing AFL football next year because he’s got that body that won’t take much to get stronger.”
Langford is still slight at 76kg, but his ability to adapt to whatever level of football he’s been exposed to over the past two years gives him confidence going into the AFL system.
“I’m a late bloomer and I’ve got a lot more development ahead of me and who knows what sort of player I’m going to be when I put on 5-10 kg?”
“I’ve been told by a lot of coaches that if I’m good enough then I’ll play, it doesn’t matter what your body size is.”
KYLE LANGFORD
AGE: 17
HEIGHT: 190cm
WEIGHT: 76kg
CLUB: Northern Knights
POSITION: Utility
SUPERCOACH AVG: 122 points
PLAYS LIKE: Jack Gunston
PREDICTED DRAFT RANGE: 5-17
IN THE MIX: Collingwood (5), Gold Coast (8/15), Adelaide (14), Essendon (17)
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