TEAM success continues to drive Hawthorn’s Will Langford.
The 23-year-old utility has reinforced his commitment to try to bring more success to the club – re-signing with the Hawks for four more years.
With 30 AFL games under his belt, the fifth-year Hawk and 2014 premiership player is excited about the challenges that lie ahead.
His new deal will see him remain in the brown and gold until the end of 2019.
“I’ve really enjoyed the journey thus far at the Hawthorn Football Club,” Langford told HawksTV.
“The prospect of continuing that – the highs and the lows and everything that comes with being here – is something that’s been a great challenge for me.
“Something I’m really embracing (is) the idea of is striving to improve as an individual, but also as a team, for the next few years.”
Team is a big focus for Langford – and a big reason he enjoys playing for Hawthorn.
He prides himself on bringing consistent effort whenever he plays, and doing the “little things” well to help his teammates.
“The group here is so wonderful,” he said.
“It’s like a collective effort, really working towards the ultimate goal and trying to win premierships, and I’ve just enjoyed being a part of that environment for the past five years.
“The prospect of doing that for a little while longer is really appealing.”
Langford joined the club with pick 85 in the 2011 Rookie Draft, and was elevated to the Hawks’ senior list in the 2013 AFL Draft.
Recruiting and List Manager Graham Wright believes Langford has a bright future with the Hawks.
“Obviously he’s been injured and has had an interrupted year, after a fantastic back-end to 2014 when he was part of our premiership team,” he said.
“Will has really developed his game – he started as a half-back flanker and has developed his game as a midfielder.
“We think he will be a really important player for us through the midfield in the future.”
It’s been a “frustrating” couple of months for Langford, who has been sidelined with injury, but his body is starting to come good heading towards the latter part of the season.
WATCH: R20 Bupa Recovery Report - Langford edging closer to return
He’s played 10 of a possible 18 AFL matches this season, but just two of the past 10.
“I’ve had a few injuries and haven’t been able to play too much footy for the past couple of months, and probably struggled a bit before I got injured with my knee,” he said.
“It’s been a bit frustrating I suppose, but at the same time it’s been wonderful to watch the team play the footy it has been playing and have a bit of distance between myself and the game – (and) actually sit back and really enjoy how well my teammates are playing and how well the team has gelled.”
He admits breaking into the Hawks’ senior side before the finals will be a tough task.
But Langford doesn’t like to put limits on what he and the team can achieve.
“I don’t necessarily think too much about where I’m at or where I can go," he said.
“I just like to continue chipping away – nothing happens overnight, it’s a lot of hard work that goes in.
“(With) some more hard work, hopefully it can keep coming together, most importantly for the team. We’ve had a fair bit of success and that’s certainly something that we’ll want to keep driving and striving for as a footy club.”
Off the field, Langford likes to keep things “low key”.
He’s studying at the University of Melbourne and has a keen interest in music and reading.
“I live in South Melbourne near the market there, and there’s some really nice cafes so often I just go have a cup of tea or cup of coffee and read a book,” he said.
“I play a lot of guitar as well and don’t really watch too much television, I try to relax and read interesting books and newspapers, and music is certainly a passion of mine.”
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