I rewatched the replay with the volume down so I wasn’t distracted by the waffle.
Langford got it a lot and did some very good things in quarters 1, 3, & 4… quiet in the second.
If he made the 22 and could rack up 15 and drift forward for a couple of goals then thatd be an ideal settling into the year. Hopefully from there build up to a few break out games where he polls a few. Thats how I can envisage it if he takes his chance.
His inside work was poor today for the most part I thought. He actually likes to back off his man to give himself space as the ball goes up. That’s great if you have a dominant ruckman and your the number one target but if that isn’t the case you often get caught looking flat footed and he did. I think he needs to reset his starting position to a more defensive posture unless we are planning on picking Ryder and playing lanford at 6 o’clock.
His work around the ground as a mid though was very good today I thought. Just routinely finding the right spots and his extra size in the air was what we missed against Sydney in the final.
Having watched most of the replay now he really did get the ball wherever he went, all over the ground. Even when green was well on top in the first he found his way to around half a dozen touches or so. Switched very well between on baller and fwd and never seemed out of the play. Very encouraging performance
If you watch how he sets up around stoppages his first instinct is to engage in a wrestle and face his body away from the fall of the ball. He’s at a massive disadvantage straight away.
When played at VFL level his primary focus is winning the ball and he does it very well.
I don’t mind if they are just trying to teach him the defensive aspects of the game but at some point they need to allow him to play his natural game.
I was pleased with how he worked through the game yesterday.
When he comes into AFL side he may be getting a defensively minded role.
Certainly been a way to teach young players where to run over the years if following an oppositions star mid.
Jack Graham came into Tigers side and did exactly that and did it well, in GF blanketing Sloane and still being damaging when floating fwd kicking 3 on him.
Given Langford is just learning to be a midfielder it’s a good move IMO.
For me, it is a choice. Langford or Myers. I quietly hope they don’t play both.
I felt that Myers was pretty good in close yesterday, albeit with the blind kicks out of the contest still pretty prominent in his game.
I felt that Langford was excellent around the ground. And his work in close was against the stronger mids. I felt that Stringer got away from him a couple of times in particular.