So when former Williamstown teammate Adam Cook recommended the Wodonga Raiders after 12 months at Birallee Park, the young midfielder thought he would take a look for himself.

“Cooky said the Raiders had really looked after him and he hasn’t had a bad word to say about the club so that pretty well got me over the line,” Langlands said yesterday.

“It will be a good change and the VFL is pretty full on with five nights a week training.

“I like training, but that’s a big commitment.

“After talking to Cooky and a few mates in the Goulburn Valley, I can’t wait to get a taste of the Ovens and Murray.”

Unlike Cook, who met his teammates only during the reserve grade match before the opening round match against Wangaratta Rovers last season, Langlands has trained twice at Birallee Park.

Langlands also took part in a Raiders’ camp at Falls Creek last weekend.

He will travel with Adam and Todd Cook and Scott Meyer from Melbourne.

Langlands, 24, said coach Corey Lambert had outlined the team’s game plan at the camp and is confident of the direction the club is heading.

“Cooky said we lost a lot of close ones last year and you can turn that around,” he said.

“It’s exciting going into a new league after being at Willy for five years.

“I see that Daniel Boyle has signed with Wangaratta and there are a few other VFL players running around but otherwise I don’t know a lot about the competition.”