As if contending with the ferocious on-ball brigade of Christian Petracca, Jack Viney and Clayton Oliver wasn’t daunting enough, Melbourne appears to have its next destructive midfield tackle-breaker in Harvey Langford.
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Four senior Demons recently told foxfooty.com.au of Langford’s immediate influence — as well as where he is likely to play — while also heaping praise on fellow highly-touted first-rounder Xavier Lindsau, who’s a player with “special” prospects.
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With caution surrounding Petracca’s long-term health following serious internal injuries, uncertainty regarding Oliver’s longevity future and Viney nearing 31 years of age, it comes with little surprise the Demons targeted ball-winners at last November’s draft, one year after snapping up gut-runner Caleb Windsor with the No.7 pick.
Langford, drafted by the Demons with the No.6 draft pick last year, has turned teammates’ heads in his first top-level pre-season and prompted calls from his peers for an early-season debut; potentially in Round 1 at the MCG.
The 191cm ‘bull’ turned recruiters’ heads for the Dandenong Stingrays and Victoria Country respectively, showcasing his uninhibited hunger for the Sherrin and imposing presence at the coalface.
The 18-year-old posted averages of 25 disposals, six marks, six clearances and six inside-50s for Country at last year’s National Championships, while he also appeared for Richmond’s VFL outfit, with the Tigers among multiple rivals keeping a close pre-draft eye on the left-footer.
Petracca, who said Langford had “fit in seamlessly” alongside fellow Lindsay this pre-season, sees similarities between the sixth overall pick and 12-year Demons hard nut Viney.
“Harvey’s a big-bodied mid, he’s awesome; he’s going to work well with a lot of us midfielders,” Petracca began.
“Yeah, I do (see similarities to Viney). Definitely. Inside midfielders, bulls (in) the way they attack the footy.
“Harvey can probably go play forward a bit more and be a bit more of a deeper presence, but I think (Viney’s) already taken him under his wing and helping him with some stoppage craft stuff.”
After 10 goals in 14 games for the Stingrays in 2023, Langford doubled his scoring output in 15 outings last year.
Across his 30-game Coates Talent League career, he wound up averaging a goal a game; flashing a tantalising glimpse of the archetypal, big-bodied midfielder who can also damage while resting forward.
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Skipper Max Gawn praised both Langford and his Vic Country teammate Lindsay, who is also likely to slot into a forward-of-centre role in the early stages, based on the ruck’s pre-season observations.
“Xavier and Harvey are two kids that have come in and you can just see they’re extremely talented and extremely good kids,” Gawn also told foxfooty.com.au.
“I think they’re both midfielders, but from what I hear our recruiters say and a little bit of what I’ve seen at training, it looks like they both like a goal as well.
“So, that half-forward role, rolling up at stoppage might be (their job) throughout that first year.”
The 183cm Lindsay, a precise left-footer but of a smaller frame than Langford, might be deployed by the Dees, with attacking intentions but showed his wares as a dashing half-back rebounder with Country.
The Gippsland Power product averaged 23.4 disposals and 4.0 marks last year at Talent League level and is a willing tackler.
Eighth-year Melbourne goalkickerBayley Fritsch spoke of Langford’s sheer size for a player in the infancy of his AFL career.
“(There are) not too many guys that, you know, is probably already bigger than me and I’m eight years in the system,” Fritsch said.
“(He’s) just come in and taken everything in his stride, learning a lot each day. But when it comes to match-play, he’s definitely a very strong character and he’s doing a lot of good things on the field, that’s for sure.”
Even Viney admitted Langford had him for size and strength.
“Harvey’s a competitor, which I love. He’s a lot bigger than I am, and stronger,” Viney told Foxfooty.com.au.
“Once he kind of gets his feet at AFL level and picks up the speed of it and a few craft points here and there, he’s going to be a real menace at AFL level.
“I can’t wait to play with him. I think if he keeps tracking the way he is this pre-season, he’s going to be playing pretty early.”
There is little doubting Langford is a long-term prospect for the Demons, and if so, he will play plenty of footy with Melbourne’s 2023 first-rounder Windsor, who Viney is confident won’t fall into the second-year ‘trap’.
“I’ve been really impressed with Caleb’s second pre-season,” he said.
“It can be a bit of a trap first-year players fall into after playing pretty consistently at the top level, the second-year blues, maybe come back a little bit complacent, but what we’re seeing from Caleb over the pre-season is he’s come back in better shape and wanting to improve.
“(We) might even see him play a few different positions this year, he’s been a real standout this pre-season for myself and I’m really looking forward to seeing him attack 2025.”
Windsor, 19, played 19 senior games in his first AFL season, averaging 14.5 disposals and 2.3 inside-50s per game. He earned a Rising Star nomination in Round 8 for an 18-disposal, six-mark and six-tackle performance against Geelong.
The Demons play North Melbourne in an informal match simulation on February 22 before facing Fremantle in Western Australia in their Community Series fixture on March 2.
Melbourne will then host GWS at the MCG in Round 1.
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