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Will Langford
Langford playing for Hawthorn in April 2017
Personal information
Full name	William Langford
Date of birth	(1992-07-03) 3 July 1992 (age 32)
Original team(s)	UNSW-ES Bulldogs
Draft	No. 85, 2011 rookie draft
Debut	Round 17, 2013, Hawthorn vs. Western Bulldogs, at Aurora Stadium
Height	187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	83 kg (183 lb)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Playing career
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2011–2018	Hawthorn	72 (24)
Playing statistics correct to the end of 2018.
Career highlights
AFL premiership player: 2014 VFL premiership player: 2013
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

William Langford is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early life

Will was born in Sydney to mother Eleanor and father Chris, Hawthorn Team of the Century backman. Chris had moved to Sydney late in his AFL career to pursue a career as an accountant, and it was there that his kids were raised.

Will played his junior football for East Sydney Bulldogs before progressing to UNSW-ES Bulldogs senior football in the Sydney AFL whilst his progress was monitored by AFL recruiters.

Touted as a father-son prospect Langford was instead recruited to the AFL's Hawthorn Football Club as a part of the AFL’s now defunct NSW Scholarship programme in the 2011 Rookie draft.

AFL career

Langford suffered chronic fatigue syndrome in his first year at the Hawks in 2011. After an impressive season in Box Hill in defence in 2012, he was shifted into the midfield and impressing early in the 2013 season, he was elevated to the senior list along with John Ceglar after Hawks players Ryan Schoenmakers and Matt Suckling were placed on the club's long term injury list. and played one senior game against the Western Bulldogs in round 17 at Launceston's Aurora Stadium. Langford continued his solid form with Box Hill throughout the 2013 season, culminating in playing in the club's second VFL Premiership against Geelong.

Promotion to senior list

He was promoted to the main player list for 2014. Hawthorn used pick 71 in the 2013 AFL Draft. In 2014 Langford started the season in the seniors showing at times the VFL form from the previous year. He lost his spot mid year and returned to Box Hill and told to work on several parts of his game. Within a month he had returned the seniors and became one of Hawthorn's best reliable midfielders after shutting out Geelong captain Joel Selwood in a round 22 clash and a best on ground performance in the Preliminary Final shutting down Port Adelaide captain Travis Boak and a dominating display in the 2014 AFL Grand Final where he kicked 3 goals and collected 21 disposals. The Hawks won by 63 points and he was listed as one of the best players.

Langford enjoyed career-high kicking and marking figures in 2017 and his best since 2014 when he was the star of the finals series. He was one of the few bright lights early in the season when the Hawks were being trounced. His goalkicking became erratic missing what should have been easy set shots put his teammates under pressure. He played only six senior games in 2018, suffering a season ending hamstring injury.

On 30 October 2018, Langford was delisted by Hawthorn and subsequently retired.

Statistics

Honours and achievements

Team

• AFL premiership player (Hawthorn): 2014
• Minor premiership (Hawthorn): 2013
• VFL premiership player (Box Hill): 2013
• Minor premiership (Box Hill): 2015

Family

He is the son of Hawthorn Team of the Century backman Chris Langford, who represented the club in 303 games, including 4 premierships, and is currently a member of the AFL Commission. Will's younger brother, Lachlan Langford, was rookied by the Hawks in the 2015 AFL rookie draft. It was the first time brothers had been on the Hawthorn list since Shane and Justin Crawford in 1998. With Will's premiership in 2014, the Langfords became the second father/son premiership players at the club after Peter and Paul Hudson in 1971 and 1991 respectively.

His uncle, Tom Langford, was a prominent VFL player, mainly with Port Melbourne, from 2006-2017 before becoming a development coach with Richmond.

References

1. NSW/ACT Player of the Week: Will Langford AFL NSW/ACT 24 July 2013
2. After four years of hard work, patience and bowling teammates over at training, Will Langford looks worth the wait for Hawthorn by Emma Quayle for The Age 21 September 2014
3. Quayle, Emma (6 February 2011). "Life's grand plan".
4. Salemme, Kate (28 June 2013). "Hawks upgrade Ceglar, Langford to senior list". hawthornfc.com.au.
5. Buckle, Greg (20 July 2013). "Happy-Hawks:-Dog-fight-falls-short\". afl.com.au.
6. "Hawthorn promote Will Langford and ruckman Jon Ceglar to senior list ahead of 2014 season | Herald Sun". Archived from the original on 31 October 2013.
7. Beveridge, Riley (30 October 2018). "Hawthorn premiership star retires after delisting". Australian Football League. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
8. Will Langford's player profile at AFL Tables

External links

• Will Langford's playing statistics from AFL Tables

• Living people
• 1992 births
• Australian rules footballers from New South Wales
• Box Hill Football Club players
• Hawthorn Football Club players
• Hawthorn Football Club premiership players
• UNSW-Eastern Suburbs Bulldogs players
• People educated at Cranbrook School, Sydney
• VFL/AFL premiership players
• People from the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney)