Dane Gagai

Background

Born in Mackay, Queensland, Gagai is of Torres Strait Islander and Ngāti Pikiao descent. Gagai's father Ray was a member of the Brisbane Broncos' squad in the 1989 NSWRL season. Gagai is also the cousin of Parramatta Eels player Josh Hoffman, former Broncos player Wendell Sailor and current Broncos player Travis Waddell.

Gagai is eligible to play for both Australia and New Zealand through parents of Indigenous Australian and Māori descent.

Gagai played his junior football for Brisbane Wests before being signed by the Brisbane Broncos.

Early career

From 2009 to 2011, Gagai played for the Brisbane Broncos' NYC team, scoring 39 tries in 61 games. At the end of 2010, Gagai was named at fullback in the 2010 NYC Team of the Year and played for the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis.

2011

In Round 1 of the 2011 NRL season, Gagai made his NRL debut for the Brisbane Broncos against the North Queensland Cowboys on the wing, scoring a try in the Broncos 16-14 loss at Suncorp Stadium. Gagai finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 7 matches and scored 4 tries for the Brisbane Broncos in the 2011 NRL season. On 30 August 2011, Gagai was named at wing in the 2011 NYC Team of the Year.

2012

On 19 March 2012, Gagai re-signed with the Broncos on a 2-year contract. On 9 May 2012, Gagai was released from his Broncos contract less than 2 months after re-signing due to disciplinary reasons. On 28 May 2012, Gagai signed a 2-year contract with the Newcastle Knights effective immediately. In Round 14 of the 2012 NRL season, Gagai made his club debut for the Newcastle Knights against the Canberra Raiders at centre, scoring a try in the Knights 32-16 loss at Hunter Stadium. Gagai finished his first year in the Newcastle Knights with him playing in 12 matches and scoring 5 tries in the 2012 NRL season.

2013

On 22 May 2013, Gagai re-signed with the Knights on a 2-year contract. Gagai finished the 2013 NRL season with him playing in 23 matches and scoring 5 tries for the Knights. In August 2013, Gagai rejected playing for New Zealand to represent his mother in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup instead setting his sights to play for Queensland in State of Origin.

2014

On 28 January 2014, Gagai was banned from the Queensland Origin camp by Mal Meninga after a discipline breach. In February 2014, Gagai was selected in the Knights inaugural 2014 Auckland Nines squad. In June 2014, Gagai was included in the Queensland Maroons extended 22 man squad but was later not chosen to make his debut for Queensland. Gagai finished 2014 NRL season with him playing in all off the Knights 24 matches, scoring 7 tries and kicking a goal.

2015

On 31 January and 1 February, Gagai played for the Knights in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines. On 13 February, he played for the Indigenous All Stars against the NRL All Stars in the annual All Stars match, playing off the interchange bench for the at Cbus Super Stadium. The Indigenous side won 20-6 over the NRL All Stars. On 10 April, he re-signed with the Knights on a 2-year contract after strong interest from his former club Brisbane Broncos. On 8 July, he made his State of Origin debut on the wing for Queensland against New South Wales in Game 3 of the 2015 State of Origin series. He scored a try on debut, which was the first try of the game, in Queensland's 52-6 win. He finished the 2015 season having played in all of the Knights 24 matches, scoring 7 tries and kicking 2 goals as the club finished last. On 26 September, he played for the Prime Minister's XIII against Papua New Guinea, playing at centre in his team's 40-12 win in Port Moresby. On 15 December, he was named on the wing for the Indigenous All Stars to play against the World All Stars on 13 February 2016.

2016

On 13 February, Gagai again played for the Indigenous All Stars against the new World All Stars, playing on the wing and scoring a try in his team's 8-12 loss at Suncorp Stadium. In Round 10 against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Gagai played his 100th NRL career game in the Knights' 0-62 loss at Hunter Stadium. After the match, he was seen on camera crying and being embraced by teammate Tariq Sims. Fox Sports commentators Andrew Voss, Jimmy Smith and Mark Gasnier commented on the incident, "Right there at the finish, I don't think I've ever seen the likes of that in all my time following rugby league", said Voss. "Dane Gagai just couldn't contain himself, this is a Round 10 game, have you ever witnessed that in your life?", "They were incredible pictures", said Smith. "That is a reaction you just don't see, he was shattered", said Gasnier. After the incident, Gagai was exposed to racial abuse from a crowd member. It was later revealed that Gagai was upset due to the death of his grandmother earlier that day. He played in all 3 matches for Queensland on the wing in the 2016 State of Origin series, where he scored 1 try in Game 1 in Queensland's 6-4 win at ANZ Stadium and a hat-trick of tries in Game 2 in their 26-16 win at Suncorp Stadium. He finished the season having played in 22 matches and scoring 3 tries.

2017

On 22 May, Gagai announced he would be leaving the Knights at the end of the 2017 season. It was also announced that he would play on the wing in Game 1 of the 2017 State of Origin series for Queensland. In June, it was announced he signed a 4-year contract with the South Sydney Rabbitohs starting in 2018.

On 12 July, Gagai won the Wally Lewis Medal as the player of the 2017 State of Origin series. Gagai, who played on the wing for Queensland in all 3 games and ran for over 500 metres for the series, became the first winger to win the official Player of the series.

He finished his Knights stint with 128 games, 29 tries and 3 goals.