Doulton Langlands returns to Bunton Park to play alongside his mates

Langlands committed to the Hoppers last week in a major boost to their hopes of climbing the ladder.

The 22-year-old made his senior debut for the Hoppers under coach Jason Akermanis and played a handful of senior matches before going on to play at the elite level with St Kilda.

Langlands said he was eagerly anticipating his return to Bunton Park and hoped to play his first match on May 21 against Yarrawonga.

"I wasn't enjoying WAFL football and playing at state league level," Langlands said.

"To be honest, I miss playing with my mates.

"I'm hoping a return home will reignite my passion for football.

"Playing at the higher level, I've had to sacrifice spending time with my mates and family.

"I'm just looking forward to getting home again."

Langlands played three senior matches for St Kilda after being picked up with selection eight in the 2018 rookie draft.

He kicked a goal on debut against the Western Bulldogs in 2019.

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Langlands joined Perth in the WAFL last year after being delisted by St Kilda at the end of 2020.

"The main reason I moved to Perth was to play at the highest level I could and keep my AFL dream alive," he said.

"But now I realise I just want to enjoy my football again and play with my mates.

"I did my hammy three times in six weeks at the start of the year which robbed me of a bit of motivation.

"So I ended up pulling the pin at the start of the season, just to have a bit of a mental and physical refresh.

"Joel Roberson, who is one of my North Albury mates, came over to Perth for a visit.

"We went out for dinner and I told him I was potentially thinking about playing for North Albury again.

"I guess you can now say the rest is history.

"I always had ambitions of returning to North Albury one day, it just happened a bit sooner than I expected."

Langlands revealed he watched the live stream of North Albury's upset win over Wodonga Raiders in Perth over the weekend.

"I was thrilled the boys won and I thought Sam Azzi played an outstanding match," he said.

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