It's no fluke that Jacko Brookman is playing his first season of regular top grade.
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The Bulldogs enforcer lost 65kg through good old fashioned hard work: boxing, running and rugby league. He then put on about 10kg to play for the Bulldogs, and now weighs 115kg (he was 170kg at his heaviest).
The 29-year-old father of one - a miner - has kept the weight off for more than a year.
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Brookman can play only every second week because of work, but has excelled off the bench.
He snared the three best and fairest points after Gunnedah's rebound win over Werris Creek last round.
"He came off the bench and gave us good impact," Bulldogs coach Mick Schmiedel said post-match.
Brookman has been a longtime training partner of his fellow Bulldogs prop, Lincon Smith, at Black and Blue boxing gym. Losing so much wright has been transformative.
"It's all paid off," he said of the hard work, with the new leaner Brookman enjoying the benefits of "being all-round healthier".
He has run the Port Macquarie half-marathon, and had his first fight in March.
Brookman said he decided to have "a run around" at the Bulldogs this year. Schmiedel then asked him to play first grade. "So I said, 'No worries - it's all good.'"
This season is his "favourite", despite Gunnedah's poor run. "It's a good challenge," he said. "I love it."
Gunnedah was, he added, keen to finish strongly - too "show 'em what team we really are".
"My biggest goal is to just try and knock off some of the big teams."
Gunneah host first-placed Narrabri on Saturday, then travel to fourth-placed Moree, before finishing the regular season at home against Kootingal-Moonbi.
Gunnedah - who lost six straight after a promising start to the season - are in fifth spot, six points behind Moree.
Brookman said: "We've had a few unlucky losses ... we lost at Narrabri, in the last three minutes, by a try - and they just beat Kooty on the weekend. We're definitely a team that's up there."
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