Melbourne wingman Ed Langdon has lauded the “special” membership tradition that paved the way in which for him to attend his sister’s marriage ceremony on the opposite facet of the world within the midst of the AFL season.
Langdon skipped the Demons’ encounter with West Coast this month – a humbling defeat in Perth – whereas spending 4 days 14,500km away in London for the household affair.
The 28-year-old returned and confirmed no ill-effects from the arduous flight house in a robust contribution to Melbourne’s 38-point bounce-back win over St Kilda on the MCG on Sunday.
The Demons’ tradition has been repeatedly questioned over off-field points in latest months, however Langdon was filled with reward for the membership’s leaders, together with coach Simon Goodwin and soccer boss Alan Richardson, who agreed to his uncommon request for a brief depart interval.
“It’s a credit to ‘Goody’ and the culture that we’ve built at the footy club where the club feels comfortable to let a player go mid-season to do something really important to them, which it was,” Langdon mentioned.
“It was important to me and my family, and Goody and Richo didn’t hesitate at all.
“They had been tremendous supportive proper from the get-go and we put a plan in place.”
The plan was hatched privately back in December, with the week off effectively treated as a short mid-season management period for the hard-running wingman.
Langdon, who resumed training with Melbourne four days before the St Kilda clash, said the support for his decision to attend sister Olivia’s wedding was testament to the Demons’ focus on player welfare.
“Each case is particular person with gamers and various things will pop up right here and there,” he mentioned.
“But to have fully unwavering help from the membership is fairly particular and it is a particular atmosphere to be a part of.”
Goodwin was clear during the build-up to Langdon’s return appearance that Melbourne prioritises players putting their families first, and reiterated the point after the 14.16 (100) to 9.8 (62) win over St Kilda.
“He’s a very vital participant to us and we missed him so much final week, however that was a precedence that we’re actually comfy with,” Goodwin mentioned.
“Family is first at our footy membership and this was one thing that was actually vital to Ed.
“To see the way that he returned, his investment into the week of training, and to play the way he played typifies why we love him.”
Langdon might have had a much bigger affect in opposition to St Kilda if he had taken probabilities in entrance of aim, however completed with 0.3 from his 17 disposals.
“He certainly didn’t look like he had jet-lag, did he? He ran all day, which is fantastic,” Goodwin mentioned.
“He was brilliant today. I thought his game was really strong, and he ran out the game strong.
“He would’ve favored to have kicked a few his objectives.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
