Twelve months ago Sam Lumby scored the match-winner against Narrabri at Kitchener Park to book Gunnedah a major semi-final berth – the replacement winger mobbed by his teammates as the crowd roared.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It was the type of scene the 21-year-old must have dreamed about while progressing through the Bulldogs’ ranks, after joining the club in under-7s.
On Saturday, he will pack down in the second-row when third-placed Gunnedah host first-placed Kootingal-Moonbi in what is the Bulldogs’ final regular-season match of the season.
Lumby said a win would give Gunnedah a “massive” boost ahead of the finals. While a strong performance by him would boost his chances of keeping his spot in the run-on side, having started the year on the bench. “A few injuries opened a starting spot,” he said.
Staying in the run-on side means a lot to Lumby. “My goal every year is to be in that first-grade team – I want to be a run-on player,” he said, adding: “You want to be the best player you can be. I want to play first-grade footy, so I show up and try and do the job. I play footy because I love it.
“If there’s better players than me, so be it. I’ll work my hardest to be the next player in [the starting side].”
Gunnedah coach Sean Hayne would love that attitude. It fits in with the way the Bulldogs have played the past two rounds, after emerging from a spat of underdone performances to upset North Tamworth and then soundly beat the Kangaroos in Boggabri over the past two rounds.
Gunnedah will almost certainly finish in third spot, and will play either Kooty or Norths in the major semi-final.
Lumby said the Bulldogs’ form reversal had been “unreal”. “[If we] keep that form up we’ll be pretty hard to beat, I think,” he said.
“But it’s about showing up every week … We've proved that we can do it. Now we’ve got the point to prove that we can keep doing it.”
READ ALSO:
High on talent but light on first-class performances for most of the season, Lumby said Gunnedah now had “a bit of confidence” behind them, with players “rocking up to training with a good attitude”.
“The boys are a bit more confident, I think, within ourselves and we're showing up for each other in defence – not falling off the tackles like we were.”
Hayne said Lumby was “pretty keen” and had an open ear to his advice. “He does whatever you ask of him,” the mentor said, adding that the side would be close to full strength for Saturday’s clash, with “22 or 23” players at his disposal.
