In stark contrast with their women's team, which has continued its dominant streak, the men have endured a season which coach Andy Mack said was "always going to be tough".

Mack's foresight had nothing to do with intuition or instinct - the team had lost several of its most experienced players in recent seasons and subsequently entered that period that all coaches dread: a rebuilding year.

"It was probably on the cards," Mack said.

"The previous four or five years, we'd won three premierships, then last year was the start of a rebuilding year with guys from that previous success moving on."

Despite their struggles (the Bulldogs currently sit second-last on the ladder), last weekend was one of the bright spots of Gunnedah's campaign.

Granted, they were playing the Narrabri Eagles Moree Suns combined team, which is last in the league, but Mack was still pleased to get a 27.23.185 to 2.3.15 win notched.

"We've got a pretty simple game plan, just try to get it as long as we could and on the weekend that came to fruition," he said.

"[NEMS have] had their challenges with numbers, and so have we. On the weekend, we got some numbers back from people that have been injured. It's been a bit of a hot and cold season.

Gunnedah's 170-point win was its third for the year. As they are out of finals contention with just two rounds remaining, the coach intends to use the coming games to experiment with players in different positions.

"Lack of experience" was a phrase used repeatedly by Mack when discussing Gunnedah's team lists.

It was not meant in a derogatory sense. It was simply an acknowledgement of how new many of the players are to the game, and the challenges that come with coaching an influx of fresh faces.

"A lack of experience goes hand-in-hand with the fact that we've had a lot of high turnover," Mack said.

"The goal is getting the guys that are less experienced, rather than thinking 'Oh here we go again, we're going to get beaten', giving them the belief that we can close out games."

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