A self-described "quiet bloke generally", he transforms himself into an inspirational leader at training and on game day.

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From the outside, it had seemed a bold decision to make the then 18-year-old Maher captain of the side in 2018: he was one year out of high school, he only had two years senior men experience and he took over a side who broke a long premiership drought the previous year.

And, oh, he said he had George's "big shoes" to fill.

But it was a judicious decision. Maher steered the side to a grand final loss to Inverell in his first year in charge and led them to a premiership last season.

On the cusp of his 21st birthday, he is the leader of a team who have blown away the opposition this season - and are expected to do the same to Moree at Wolseley Oval on Saturday.

"It was pretty daunting to start with, especially that first year," Maher said of captaining the Bulldogs.

"And then we came out last year: I felt pretty confident in it, to be honest," he added.

Gunnedah, Maher said, were driven by a desire to "keep doing what we've been doing".

"That pretty much means going out there and hitting targets, playing short footy and just running ... If you're buggered, have a drink and keep running."