They’re the one-two punch who left the mighty Bears bleeding and looking jarringly vulnerable.
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And if Gunnedah are to again topple North Tamworth when the sides meet at the ground rival teams are buried, Jack Woolaston Oval, in the qualifying final on Sunday, it could be the killer combination of five-eighth DJ Smith and fullback Dylan Lake who once more provide the main highlight reel moments.
Awaiting the victor is a semi-final meeting with the Roosters at Kootingal on Sunday week, the winner of that match advancing to the grand final.
When Gunnedah and Norths last met, the Bulldogs shocked the reigning four-time premiers on July 21 by ending a long losing sequence against them in a 44-16 win, with Smith, the laser-guided kicker, and Lake, the missile, combining for three first-half tries that left the Bears staggering across Kitchener Park, down 28-0 at halftime.
Neither side has lost since then – Gunnedah maintaining the arresting form reversal that started with that win and North Tamworth quickly regaining their mojo. Both sides will be at full strength on Sunday.
Lake scored four tries in the win over Norths, and another three in the wins over Boggabri and Kootingal-Moonbi that followed. He has 15 tries in total this year.
Bulldogs halfback Matt Brady, the reigning Group 4 and Gunnedah player of the year, called Lake a “freak”.
He extolled the speedy No.1’s combination with Smith on the left edge and, as happened twice against Norths last month, precise grubbers down the middle close to the Bears’ tryline that Lake pounced on in a blur.
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“I’d say they’d [Smith and Lake] be in for a really big finish to the season,” Brady said, adding: “I think the little combination between him [Lake] and DJ on our left edge has been pretty important and very dangerous for us.
“I think they’ve just slowly grown [as a combination] over the year to now. They just work well together and have been playing well.”
But for Smith and Lake to deliver another virtuoso performance on Sunday, the Bulldogs’ forwards will need to again dominate Norths’ pack, the hardest task in the competition, especially at Bear Park, thus severing Norths’ home winning sequence at 33 matches. Their last home defeat was a 30-28 loss to West Lions in round three, 2015.
Brady said that if Gunnedah’s pack doesn’t win the ruck battle, Lake would find it hard to sparkle at his optimum.
“If he hasn’t got that go forward, getting that roll on, it really limits his game a lot,” the No.7 said.
