Langer in defense. He was upset that no-one was defending him against Bennett's comments and so stood up and said "He's a Queenslander and won't let us down". Langer's superb performance, including a man-of-the-match award in the decider, silenced the critics and saw him signed on with the newly established Brisbane Broncos team who would enter the New South Wales Rugby League premiership in 1988. Coached by Bennett and captained under Wally Lewis at the Broncos, Langer developed further skill with the ball and learnt much from his mentors, and his two tries in Game I of the 1988 State of Origin series saw him named Man of the Match again. He scored tries in the other two Origin fixtures as well. On the 2nd Ashes Test of the 1988 Great Britain Lions tour which was played at Lang Park, on the electronic scoreboard the message "Bullfrog - shame our favourite No 7 isn't here" was displayed in a reference to Langer being overlooked for selection by Kangaroos team manager Peter Moore in favour of Peter Sterling. Langer made his début for the Australian test side against Papua New Guinea due to a shoulder injury to Sterling. This made him the first Bronco to earn international representative honours. On 20 July 1988 Langer played for Australia in their record 62-point win over Papua New Guinea, scoring two tries. At the end of the 1988 NSWRL season Langer was named the Broncos' player of the year, then went on to score two tries in Australia's win in the 1988 World Cup final over New Zealand. Suffering a broken leg in 1989, Langer missed most of that season. 1990s Langer's leg recovered to go on the 1990 Kangaroo tour. following the axing of Lewis from the Broncos and later the retirement of Gene Miles, the diminutive Langer became captain of the Broncos in 1992. Alfie then played in all three matches of the 1992 State of Origin series, scoring one try and kicking the match-winning field goal in Game II. He also won the Wally Lewis Medal for being the best player in the Match. He helped Australia retain The Ashes during the 1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand and also won the Rothmans Medal for best and fairest player in the Winfield Cup competition that season. Along with Steve Renouf, Langer was the year's top try scorer