Driving from Melbourne to Sydney on the Hume Highway, where should we stop for the night?

We'll shortly be driving from Melbourne to Sydney on the Hume Highway and plan to stop for two nights en route. We'll have a late departure from Melbourne, so the goal is to drive only a few hours the first day, drive well past the halfway point on the 2nd day, and then coast into Sydney on the third day. All the towns and motels along the way seem to be much of a muchness, so any recommendations? We'll have a hyperactive two-year-old in tow, which is also why we're scheduling in a lot of time for breaks, so pools, parks, playgrounds etc are a definite bonus, both in town and along the way.

And yes, we know that it would more make sense to fly or at least take "the long way" via the coast, but unfortunately we're both pressed for time and need to get our car to Sydney. We've also been to Canberra already and would rather not detour, and finally, I also have it on good authority that Gundagai of "Tucker Box" fame is a dump.