DANDENONG Stingrays co-captain Harvey Langford is our Coates Talent League Player of the Week after stuffing the stats sheet in Round 19. He takes out our final award of the season for his 33 disposals, five marks, and four goals in the Stingrays’ 10-point win over Gippsland Power on Saturday.

>> Snapshot: 2024 Coates Talent League Round 19

Starting at the opening centre bounce next to opposition skipper and Vic Country teammate Xavier Lindsay, Langford also made an impact up forward with a personal-best haul of goals to take his season tally to 18 in 12 games.

He booted three of his majors within the first half-hour of play, helping Dandenong establish a game-high 36-point buffer early in the second quarter. He has been held goalless just once and also has two bags of three, while his 33 touches made for another season-high total.

Langford’s latest performance only strengthened his status as a top 10 prospect. He initially rose to such standing having tied for the Larke Medal as the Under 18 National Championship’s best and fairest player. He also recently made his VFL debut with Richmond.

>> Player Focus: Harvey Langford (Richmond VFL)

With their win over Gippsland, the Stingrays finished the regular season in third place overall, good enough for second in the Country/Tasmania conference. They will move on to face Bendigo Pioneers on Sunday afternoon in this weekend’s Wildcard Round.

Langford wasn’t the only top prospect to impress in Round 19. Oakleigh captain Jagga Smith led an upset win over Sandringham with 33 disposals and two goals, while fellow top pick contender Finn O’Sullivan returned to the fold with three goals from 18 touches.

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Another pick one contender, Josh Smillie also returned to form with 29 touches and a goal in Eastern’s win over Northern. Knights star Jesse Dattoli was prominent for the losing side, racking up 26 disposals and posting his second three-goal game in as many weeks.

Murray downed Bendigo by 30 points on Saturday, but Pioneers spearhead Jobe Shanahan again impressed with six majors from 17 disposals and six marks. At the other end, Bushies tall Jack Whitlock ruled the airways with nine marks and two goals.

Speaking of goals, Calder bottom-ager Hussien El Achkar snagged five in the Cannons’ 40-point win over Western. He’s an Essendon Next Generation Academy member. GWV Rebels midfielder Sam Lalor was also in fine form, having 25 disposals as his side went down to Geelong.

The final Player of the Week nod will be followed by this week’s Team of the Week, while the Rookie Me Central Medallist will also be crowned shortly. Our Team of the Year squad will be announced next week before being trimmed to a final team of 24.

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2024 COATES TALENT LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Round 1: Josh Smillie (Eastern Ranges)
Round 2: Taj Hotton (Sandringham Dragons)
Round 3: Will McLachlan (Geelong Falcons)
Round 4: N/A
Round 5: Bailey McKenzie (Sandringham Dragons)
Round 6: Cooper Hynes (Dandenong Stingrays)
Round 7: Xavier Lindsay (Gippsland Power)
Round 8: Geordie Payne (Tasmania Devils)
Round 9: Jagga Smith (Oakleigh Chargers)
Round 10: Jonty Faull (GWV Rebels)
Round 11: Tobie Travaglia (Bendigo Pioneers)
Round 12: Joshua Murphy (Murray Bushrangers)
Round 13: Zane Cochrane (Oakleigh Chargers)
Round 14: Zac Harding (Murray Bushrangers)
Round 15: Cooper Ward (Geelong Falcons)
Round 16: Jack Ough (GWV Rebels)
Round 17: Elwood Peckett (Dandenong Stingrays)
Round 18: Cooper Duff-Tytler (Calder Cannons)
Round 19: Harvey Langford (Dandenong Stingrays)