Almanac Footy: The Kings of the Wings

 

 

 

How refreshing has it been to see Melbourne’s premiership wing Ed Langdon play? His statistics in 2022 are nothing short of extraordinary.

 

According to Champion Data he is averaging 16 kilometres a game in distance, 3.5km of that at top speed and most startling, in the first four games of the season he played all bar four minutes of all those games combined.

 

What Langdon and his partner in crime on the opposite wing, Angus Brayshaw have highlighted so dramatically in these past two years, is just how important and exciting the wing position is in AFL footy.

 

If you are someone of my middle-aged ilk, seeing classy wingers strut their stuff on Saturday arvos was par for the course.

 

Many of the star wings in the ’70s and ’80s were defined by that position, unable to play anywhere else. That’s not to be derogative, because frankly no one else had the talent to pull off what they did week in week out.

 

In my own experience in the VFA with Werribee, we had two outstanding wings come through that could never have got a kick anywhere else.

 

Former Geelong Cat, Darren Morgan and former Western Bulldog, Mark Cullen were both left footers with superb speed and skill.

 

However, put them both 20m inboard to the centre and they were confused and all at sea. I know they will argue their versatility at our next past players function, but any evidence to the contrary will fall on deaf ears! Both were fine players but born to play on the wing.

 

To be a great wing in the ’70s and ’80s required what we are seeing now from Langdon. An enormous aerobic capacity combined with explosive speed.

 

Although they were more on ballers in the ’80s and ’90s, Carlton’s Craig Bradley and St Kilda’s Robert Harvey were purported to have run half marathons of 21km and more in a game.

 

Naturally, like all players of that era, they never came off the ground unless injured or demonstrating poor form. Maybe there’s something in the conditioning of players going forward based on what Langdon is achieving now?

 

Perhaps coaches should be looking at developing specific wings instead of simply having them part of a regular midfield rotation whereby everything is governed by sports science and a potential weapon can get lost?

 

Langdon’s running capacity reminds me of North Melbourne champion Wayne Schimmelbusch, a man who was almost indefatigable and whose will to compete remains his legacy forever at the club.

 

The ‘sexier’ wingers who dominated with the occasional ‘speccy’ and sheer grace, were Robert Flower and Keith Greig, both legends of the game, and for sheer electrifying speed you couldn’t go past former Geelong captain, Michael Turner.

 

For the ‘highly gifted and comedic’ category it’s difficult to go past Doug Hawkins and Robert DiPierdomenico.

 

Hawkins’ sublime talents resulted in a wing named after him at the Whitten Oval and ‘Dipper’ brought an utter brutality and hardness to the position that hadn’t been seen previously.

 

There are plenty more great specialist wingers such as Michael Long and Darren Millane, but for me, if I had to choose a couple it sadly comes down to a team I dislike the most.

 

Peter Matera and Chris Mainwaring were amazing throughout the West Coast Eagles’ reign in the early ’90s. Both beautiful athletes with massive ‘tanks’, speed and skill. They would have been a nightmare to match up on.

 

Perhaps the less acknowledged partner to these two was no ‘third wheel’. The lightly framed Dean Kemp played in the centre and possessed a quick mind and superb skills. This centre line is the most complete I’ve ever seen.

 

The past 10 years has seen the game played in the AFL entrenched in a defensive mindset, with athletes conditioned to work for small periods of time at high intensity to flood opposition forward lines.

 

Richmond in 2017 kickstarted the reality that going forward at speed from turnover might actually be a viable alternative, as opposed to squeezing the life out of our great game.

 

Let’s hope for the game’s sake and our next generation of kids, that the wing becomes the position it used to be, somewhere where players with great speed, skill and instinct can flourish.

 

 

Read more from Ian Wilson Here.

 

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Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.

 

 

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