ThrowBack Thursday – Johnny Lang

6 January 2016

John Lang

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IMNmG7MOy8[/embedyt]

What you should know

If you had been living under a rock you would surely know John Lang. Lang was one of only two Queenslanders selected for the 1973 Australian Kangaroo tour to France. Lang also played a test in 1974 against Great Britain and again in 1980 against New Zealand. In 1975 he was a member of the victorious Australian team which won the Rugby League World Cup. According to Wikipedia, that is.

John Lang (born 7 November 1950) is an Australian former rugby league football coach and player. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative hooker, he played his club football in Brisbane with the Eastern Suburbs Tigers and in Sydney with the Eastern Suburbs Roosters. After playing, Lang became a first grade coach in Brisbane with Easts, then in Sydney with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Penrith Panthers (with whom he won the 2003 NRL premiership) and South Sydney Rabbitohs. Lang also coached the Australian Super League test team in 1997.

What you might not know

Lang was a hooker with Brisbane club, Easts Tigers from 1969 to 1979. He won three premierships with the club in 1972, 1977 and 1978. Also in 1972 Lang played for Brisbane in the last ever Bulimba Cup final against Toowoomba, winning 55-2.

Coaching Role

(1991) It took just nine minutes for Johnny Langs Tigers to snuff out any aspirations Wests held of breaking a 15-year premiership drought, and 45 seconds to stamp their authority on the 1991 grand final at Lang Park. The biggest post-Broncos crowd (to this day) of over 17,000 poured into headquarters and witnessed minor premiers Easts comprehensively stamp a dominant season over underdogs and crowd favourites Wests. And in just the fourth tackle, lock forward Bruce Crosby silenced the vocal Panthers crowd when he scooted 40 metres down the western sideline from dummy half, before sending winger Andrew McGown into the clear, who in turn sent five-eighth Steve Dowden over for a spectacular try. And just eight minutes later, half Andrew Neave regathered his own short grubber kick to score the simplest of tries next to the posts. A spectacular 55-metre field goal by fullback Ken Jackson then sent the Easts fans into raptures, before winger Kurt Wrigley finished off a backline move from a scrum, leaving Easts ahead 21-0. A Paul Weaver try near halftime gave the Panthers a slim hope of clawing back into the match, but Wrigleys second try soon after the break cemented a triumphant Tigers 25-10 victory for rugged workhorse skipper Ian Stains.