Men of League Foundation Farewells Graeme ‘Changa’ Langlands

The Men of League Foundation has paid tribute to rugby league immortal Graeme Langlands MBE after his passing at his Sutherland nursing home on Sunday 21 January 2018. Langlands had been living with dementia and other health issues for more than a year.

With a Men of League Foundation member number of 1 and Patron of the Sydney Metro Committee, Graeme was a great supporter of the Foundation.

In recent years, during times of ill health, the Foundation organised wellbeing visits to him from volunteers and his old teammates to reinforce his connection to the rugby league community. Just some of the legends who paid visits to Changa include Bob McCarthy, Johnny Lewis, John Grant, Jim Hall, Noel Kelly and Steve Edge.

In 2016, he was named as a finalist amongst the likes of Arthur Beetson, Wally Lewis and Darren Lockyer in the Foundation’s search for the greatest Kangaroos captain of all time, aptly titled ‘The Captains’ Captain’.

Frank Barrett, Chief Executive Officer of the Men of League Foundation, said that Graeme’s rugby league career was legendary.

“Changa was a freakish rugby league talent. Those who were lucky enough to witness his skills on the field still regard him as one of the greatest of all time, many believe he possessed the best side step the game has ever seen,” said Frank.

Graeme’s incredible rugby league career was widely acknowledged, including induction as MBE, rugby league Immortal, Australian Team of the Century and the game’s Greatest 100 Players, along with admission to Australian Rugby League and Sports Australia Hall of Fame. He also holds the title as the all-time top scorer for the St. George-Illawarra Dragons with 1,554 points to his name.

“On behalf of the Men of League Foundation, I would like to extend our sincere condolences to Graeme’s family and friends,” Frank concluded.