'Time has come': Stunning call for Allan Langer to backflip on Broncos role

Yahoo

25-05-2025

Allan Langer and the Broncos are being urged to reconsider his move into a corporate role in a bid to spark the struggling NRL team. Michael Maguire's side have lost five of their last six games, falling to eighth on the ladder after 12 rounds.
The Broncos started the season in superb form, and many experts had them as genuine premiership contenders. But questions are now starting to emerge about the culture and vibe at the club under Maguire.
It comes after Langer moved into a corporate role in 2025, ending his iconic stint as the club's trainer and assistant coach. Langer decided the arrival of Maguire to replace Kevin Walters was a good time for him to change and move into a role working with the club's corporate partners.
But his return as trainer for Billy Slater's Queensland team has shown he still loves that role as well. And it's seen leading reporter Robbert Craddock question whether Langer and the Broncos should reverse their arrangement and get him back running the water.
Langer is known for his ability to keep things light off the field and in the dressing room, and he's in charge of organising the Maroons' social gatherings during Origin camp. He's so popular with the players, and his absence at training and on game days would no doubt be having an effect at the Broncos.
"The time has come for the Broncos to give serious consideration to getting Allan Langer, mood-lightener extraordinaire, to swap his smartly ironed corporate shirt for his old water bottle and return as club trainer," Craddock wrote in on Monday. "Who better to add humour, spirit and enjoyment to a team craving all three."
Craddock said watching Langer in Queensland camp showed him what the Broncos have been missing. "Langer...is at his best in the dressing room," Craddock added. "Two years ago when the Broncos won nearly all their away games, skipper Adam Reynolds said one of the key reasons was the entertainment factor of having Langer's lightness and humour on tour."
Last year when the Broncos announced Langer was switching roles, Craddock predicted it would have a detrimental effect for the players. The Broncos and Maroons legend said of his return to the Origin fold earlier this month: "It's wonderful – it's the three best weeks of the year. The joy of being here and seeing these young guys and they still show you the respect is just a great feeling."
Tellingly, the 58-year-old recently declared the Broncos are 'lacking team spirit at the moment." He added: "The senior players have to get the group together and work out what is going wrong. Because it's hard for the coaching staff or anyone outside the playing group...it doesn't look great watching it, especially the last few weeks."
RELATED:
NRL world saddened over new revelation about Steve Mortimer
Bulldogs State of Origin rep facing the axe once Galvin arrives
Maybe Langer is the perfect man to show the players where they're going wrong. At the very least he'd provide a huge boost to moral and be a leader in the sheds.
Craddock wrote last week: "The sight of Langer at Queensland training, making people smile as he always does, was a reminder that maybe the Broncos were too hasty in shifting him from his playing day role as a trainer to become a corporate mingler. Langer is much more than a trainer. He's a bush psychologist who knew when players were down and needed a lift or a laugh. The current Broncos could do with a laugh."