Paul Langmack

Graded at C’bury while still a schoolboy at Patrician Brothers Paul Langmack played lock in the club's grand final win over P’matta in 1984. After playing for Halifax in the off-season, another grand final win followed in 1985. A clever organiser and ball-player Langmack toured with the 1986 Kangaroos and played in 10 matches (no Tests). While it seems incredible that he could have had such a long career without further rep honours Langmack consistently produced the goods at club level. A major attacking force in C’bury's 1988 grand final win over Balmain his defection to Wests in 1991 was a bitter one but he missed most of the season because of a knee injury. While he remained one of the Magpies’ most valued players, captaining the club until replaced by Jim Serdaris in 1994, he showed the fickleness of professional rugby league loyalty when he publicly backed the sacking of his former mentor Ryan towards the end of the 1994 season. Langmack was reinstated as club captain in 1995 under Tom Raudonikis. The Langmack-Raudonikis team took Wests to the semi-finals in 1995, with Langmack winning the ‘Dally M’ Captain of the Year award and earning him a new, three-year contract with the club. However, with Langmack battling injuries that threatened to end his career and openly questioning Raudonikis’ on-field tactics, their relationship soured. At the end of 1998 the veteran forward left the Magpies to see out his career with the Roosters. He retired in July 1999, having played over 300 games in his career, and took on an assistant coach’s role at W’Tigers and later Souths. When coach Craig Coleman was sacked at the beginning of 2003 Langmack was given a three-year deal with the Rabbitohs but suffered a similar fate when released by the club in 2004 after a disastrous 16-month period.