When the Gunnedah Bulldogs announced their captains for 2022, Dylan Lake was surprised to find out he was going to be one of them.
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"Mate, I didn't see it coming," Lake said.
The 26-year-old has been at the club since 2017 and has consistently been one of Gunnedah's best over that time.
Lake's always been a leader on the field through his style of play but the speedster said he's now ready tor the captaincy role.
"It is a big role to take on board, not just on the footy field but off the field, too," Lake said.
"It's a lot of responsibly but I'm happy to take it on and see what we can do."
Lake won't be doing it alone, though, with KC Edmonds to be his co-captain.
Lake is looking forward to working with Edmonds as Gunnedah look to improve on a disappointing 2021.
The Bulldogs were out of finals contention when the Group 4 season was cut short due to covid.
Lake was feeling positive about the 2022 season when talking to The Leader at the Gunnedah's pre-season camp at Lake Keepit on Saturday.
He said it was a "big year ahead" for the Bulldogs.
"Last year was disappointing. It ended the way it did but it's a new year now," Lake said.
"We've gotta get over last year and try and build for bigger and better things this year. Try and achieve what we train hard for throughout the pre-season.
"That's what this is all about, getting mentally ready for the year."
The pre-season camp was held over three days with Saturday being the most trying of them all.
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The Dogs had a 5am start and an 8pm finish on a day which included an obstacle course that closed out a morning of physically-testing exercises.
"It's been a hard day but it's also been a good day," Lake said after the obstacle course.
"Everyone's getting in, having a go, doing the best they can.
"It's good see all the young fellas and old fellas get out and about pretty early in the season.
"It should show our initiative and what's going to happen throughout the year."
The captaincy isn't the only new role Lake is likely to take on in 2022, either.
Lake, who's predominantly played fullback in his senior career, said he's likely to shift to halfback after playing there a couple times last year.
"I think I'll be in halfback. I was chucked there late last year and I've enjoyed every moment of it," he said.
"I played a bit in my younger days and made a switch to fullback and had couple years there."
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Ben Jaffrey
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
