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:
“A man has every season while a woman only has the right to spring. That disgusts me.”
—Jane Fonda (b. 1937)
“The traditional American husband and father had the responsibilities—and the privileges—of playing the role of primary provider. Sharing that role is not easy. To yield exclusive access to the role is to surrender some of the potential for fulfilling the hero fantasy—a fantasy that appeals to us all. The loss is far from trivial.”
—Faye J. Crosby (20th century)
“I shall christen this style the Mandarin, since it is beloved by literary pundits, by those who would make the written word as unlike as possible to the spoken one. It is the style of all those writers whose tendency is to make their language convey more than they mean or more than they feel, it is the style of most artists and all humbugs.”
—Cyril Connolly (1903–1974)