Lincon Smith says his daughter Marlee has made him a better man

One of Group 4's hardest men is a big softy, it turns out - another man's man who happily surrenders his machismo when his little girl invades his heart.

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The Gunnedah boilermaker, 23, got all emotional outside the dressing sheds at Jack Woolaston Oval late on Sunday afternoon.

As the sun hung low in the west, illuminating the Bulldogs prop with its dying light, he held his "light" despite feeling physically spent following a player of the match performance in a 26-24 loss to North Tamworth.

"Changed my life," he said of his 11-month-old daughter, adding that he gets "emotional before every game" because of her.

"I don't know why. It's just a massive part of it for me."

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He continued: "[There's] a few little tears when I look through some photos or some memories that we've [his family] been through."

Marlee "sparks your day up", he said. "She's my light, that's for sure."

Smith told Group 4 Media that his daughter had made him a better man. "She's calmed me down heaps, on and off he field."

After the Norths clash, there was a sense of victory in defeat for Gunnedah - who narrowly failed to win their third straight match after a poor first half of the season.

Smith said Gunnedah's improvement was "crazy". "Like, just the positivity around the field is massive."

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