Fiercely competitive on a rugby league field, Donnelly is about to embark on his 11th season with the Bulldogs - resuming the pursuit for that elusive premiership: the club's first since 1998.

The 28-year-old has laid bare his exasperation at not having won a premiership, and his dread at the prospect of retiring with that remaining the case.

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But each new season brings renewed hope that this will finally be the year when Gunnedah ascend to the very top.

With the nucleus of last year's side intact, some new faces in line for selection and a new coach in Mick Schmiedel, Gunnedah's long quest for glory will resume on Saturday when they launch season 2020 with a trial against Singleton at Kitchener Park.

"It's probably the only main goal I've really got," Donnelly said of winning a premiership.

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"It's been a couple of years that we've been floating on the edge of winning one. So it would be really nice to get one."

"Mick's [Schmiedel] got high standards for us," he added. "So we don't want to go into the season thinking we can't win it, when we know we can."

He continued: "We've got a good side. It all comes down to how we show up on the day."

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Out of North Tamworth's record run of six-straight premierships, Gunnedah came closest to beating the Bears - a 34-28 loss in 2018.

Norths have lost some key personnel in the off-season, namely Shane Wadwell and Kieran Fisher and perhaps Josh Schmiedel, but Donnelly expects the Bears to be as strong as ever in 2020.

"He's real to the point. He's just a good coach.

"You can sort of tell he's been around for a while: he knows his stuff, he puts the onus back on the players."