Giant Zac Langdon has emerged as one of the bargain buys of the draft

IN his late teens, when most footballers are dreaming of an AFL career, Zac Langdon didn’t even bother to nominate for the draft. NEIL CORDY looks at the young Giant’s journey to the AFL.

Zac Langdon tackles Matt Crouch. Picture: Sarah Reed

SUPER-talented Giant Zac Langdon is an overnight success years in the making.

In his late teens, when most footballers are dreaming of an AFL career, he didn’t even bother to nominate for the draft.

He was a long way away, happy to continue his apprenticeship as an electrician and play local footy in Dampier, a remote WA port town 1500 kilometres north of Perth. It’s the same town Swans assistant coach and West Coast champion Dean Cox is from.

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But when Langdon turned 19 he started to develop ambitions and moved to Perth to play with Claremont in the WAFL. He soon grabbed the attention of recruiters and spoke with five clubs, including Greater Western Sydney, who snared him with pick 56.

After Sunday’s performance against Adelaide, the fourth-round pick has become one of the bargain buys of the draft.

Zac Langdon celebrates a goal against Adelaide. Picture: AAP Images

Playing in front of the biggest crowd of his life (43,000) the mature-age rookie stole the show from local hero Eddie Betts, who was well held by Aidan Corr.

It was an electrifying performance in the manner of Ben Ronke’s against Hawthorn three weeks ago. Langdon didn’t kick seven like Ronke but his three were pivotal in the season-changing win and like the young Swan, he also stuck a mountain of tackles (8).

“It was a super win and Langdon was an absolute star,” Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd said. Unfortunately for Langdon, at 22 he’s one year too old to qualify for the Rising Star award but for now the livewire forward is just happy to be back in the finals race.

“We knew in our guts we really needed to win a game soon,” Langdon told The Daily Telegraph.

“We had lost four in a row and knew this was a perfect opportunity. The way the boys came out in the first quarter was something we haven’t seen all season. The most positive thing was when teams had got in front of us recently we let it slip. To get back in front of a quality team like Adelaide means a lot.”

The Giants have given their rivals a head start but with Toby Greene likely to be back after the bye round, Tom Scully another six weeks away and Zak Williams a chance to return in August, things are starting to look up for Leon Cameron’s men.

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Originally published as Giant Zac Langdon has emerged as one of the bargain buys of the draft