GUNNEDAH Bulldogs might have lost their Dallas Donnelly Cup match 26-20 but their coach thought they played winning football.
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Gunnedah led for all bar the final few minutes of the match, Bulldogs coach Mick Schmiedel added of a thrilling local derby against Narrabri
"We led until the final four minutes," Schmiedel said.
"It was a cracker of a game. We were very, very good today."
He said the Bulldogs were also down to 11 men at one stage as the Bulldogs while Narrabri had one on the sideline to add to the drama of the game.
"They stripped us for numbers and scored two tries," Schmiedel said of a challenging period with shortened numbers.
"We led 20-12 but then lost KC [Edmonds] and then Kerrod [Smith]. That was disappointing but it's also been the tale of our season. We've lost a number of games by small margins and played some good footy.
"Today we played really good for 60 minutes but the last 10 or 15 killed us.
"Don't worry, Narrabri are a good side and they didn't give us much. Every point we got we earned."
He thought Nick White, Lincon Smith and Edmonds were best for the Bulldogs.
"Everyone played very well though," Schmiedel said.
"Matt Baker was great in defence, made some big hits. Reece [Jaeger] controlled well but we might have lost Rory Harding for the season [knee injury]."
Gunnedah go to Moree this Saturday and then host Kootingal Roosters in the final game of the season at Kichener Park.
First Grade: NARRABRI 26 (Daniel Howe 2, Jake Rumsby 2, Dennis Gordon triers, Todd Nichols 3gls) d GUNNEDAH 20 (Aaron Donnelly, Dylan Lake, Lincon Smith, Aidan Davis tries, Dylan O'Brien 2gls).
Second Grade: GUNNEDAH 34 (Will Maggs 2, Jonathan Crowe, Rhyce Kliendienst, Jordan Ford, Tony Griffiths tries, Crowe 4, Lachlan Fleming gls) d DUNGOWAN 20 (Rata Nagagavoka, Kevin Kennedy, Rich Sharpley, Kenneth Gardner tries, Nicholas Syron 2gls).
Under 18: NARRABRI 28 (Jeff Harvey 2, Billy Youman 2, Daniel McMillan tries, Johno Evans 4gls) d GUNNEDAH 18 (Bailey Swain, Charlie Lawrence, Luke Jensen tries, Swain 3gls).
Ladies League Tag: DUNGOWAN 18 (Ellie New, Phoebe Porter, Jada Taylor tries, Emma Carrigan 2, Sarah Stackman gls) d GUNNEDAH 4 (Jacqui Jones try).
