Dane Gagai

Dane Gagai (born 3 January 1991) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and er for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL. He has played for Australia and the New Zealand Maori at international level.
He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos and Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League. He has played for the Indigenous All Stars, Queensland in the State of Origin series and the Prime Minister's XIII. In 2017 he was the Origin player of the series. Earlier in his career he played as a .
Background.
Gagai was born in Mackay, Queensland, Australia. He is of Torres Strait Islander heritage through his father's family (Yam Island and Badu Island people) and Ngati Pikiao Maori descent by way of his mother's ancestry. 
Gagai's father, Ray, was a member of the Brisbane Broncos' squad in the 1989 NSWRL season. He is also the cousin of former New Zealand test player Josh Hoffman, former Broncos player Wendell Sailor and former Broncos player Travis Waddell. Gagai was eligible to play for both Australia and New Zealand through parents of Indigenous Australian and Māori. 
He played his junior football for Brisbane Wests before being signed by the Brisbane Broncos. 
Playing career.
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, he was named at in the 2010 NYC Team of the Year and played for the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis.
2011.
In round 1, Gagai made his NRL debut for the Brisbane Broncos against the North Queensland Cowboys on the , scoring a try in the 16–14 loss at Suncorp Stadium. 
Gagai finished his debut year in the NRL with 4 tries in 6 matches. He was again named in the NYC Team of the Year, this time at .
2012.
On 19 March, Gagai re-signed with Brisbane on a two-year contract. On 9 May, he was released from the contract due to disciplinary reasons. On 28 May, 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 , scoring a try in the Knights 32–16 loss at Hunter Stadium. Gagai finished his first year in the Newcastle Knights with in 12 matches and 5 tries.
2013.
On 22 May, Gagai re-signed with Newcastle on a two-year contract. he finished the season with 23 matches and scoring 5 tries. In August, Gagai rejected playing for New Zealand in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, instead setting his sights to play for Queensland in State of Origin.
2014.
On 28 January, Gagai was banned from the Queensland Origin camp by Mal Meninga after a discipline breach. In February, Gagai was selected in the Knights inaugural Nines squad. In June, he was included in the Queensland Maroons extended 22-man squad but was later not chosen to make his debut for Queensland. Gagai played in all of the Knights 24 matches, scoring 7 tries and kicking a goal.
2015.
In the pre-season, Gagai played for the Knights in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines and the Indigenous All Stars in the annual All Stars match, playing off the interchange bench. The Indigenous side won 20–6. 
On 10 April, he re-signed with Newcastle on a two-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 in Game 3 of the 2015 State of Origin series, scoring 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.
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 as Newcastle finished last on the table and claimed the wooden spoon for a second consecutive year.
2017.
Gagai made his third consecutive appearance for the Indigenous All Stars, starting on the wing and scoring a try in the 34–8 win. 
On 10 June, Gagai announced that he signed a four-year deal with the South Sydney Rabbitohs from 2018. 
On 12 July 2017, 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, scored 2 tries in Game 2 in the series-tying 18–16 win at ANZ Stadium and ran for over 500 metres for the series. He became the first winger to win the official Player of the series. 
Gagai finished his last year with the Newcastle Knights with him playing in 23 matches and scoring 2 tries as Newcastle finished last for a third consecutive year. On 3 October, he was selected in the 24-man Australia Kangaroos 2017 Rugby League World Cup squad. On 27 October, Gagai made his international debut for Australia against England, playing on the wing in the 18–4 win at AAMI Park. In his next match against Lebanon, Gagai scored his first international try in the 34–0 win at Sydney Football Stadium. Gagai played in 5 matches and scored 3 tries in the tournament including starting on the wing in the Kangaroos gritty 6-0 World Cup Final victory over England at Suncorp Stadium.
2018.
In round 1 of the 2018 season, Gagai made his club debut for South Sydney against the New Zealand Warriors, playing at centre in South Sydney's 20–32 loss at Perth Stadium. 
In round 9 against his old club Newcastle, he scored his first try for Souths in their 36–18 win at McDonald Jones Stadium. During the 2018 All-Stars match at AAMI Park, Melbourne, Gagai was eligible to play for both representative teams as he had Torres Strait Island and Maori heritage. Gagai was then selected to the Maori All-Stars Team.
2019.
Before the 2019 NRL season started Gagai chose to play for New Zealand Maori kiwis against the Indigenous Australian All Stars and in that game he scored two tries.
In Game 1 of the 2019 State of Origin series, Gagai scored 2 tries and won man of the match in Queensland's 18–14 victory at Suncorp Stadium. After the match, Gagai finished with 256 run metres, two linebreaks, three tackle breaks and 11 tackles.
In round 19 against St. George, Gagai scored two tries as South Sydney won the match 20-16 after the final siren had sounded.
Gagai finished the 2019 NRL season playing 25 games and scoring 10 tries. He played in the club's preliminary final defeat against the Canberra Raiders as the club fell short of a grand final appearance for the second year in a row.
2020.
In round 5 of the 2020 NRL season, Gagai scored two tries as South Sydney defeated the Gold Coast 32–12 at Bankwest Stadium. In round 8, Gagai scored the match winning try for Souths as they defeated Canterbury 26–10 at Bankwest Stadium. In round 9, Gagai scored his first NRL hat trick as Souths defeated the West Tigers 18–10 at Bankwest Stadium.
In round 18 against Wests Tigers, Gagai scored a try but was later sent to the sin bin after throwing the ball at Wests player Luke Brooks. Brooks retaliated punching Gagai in the face before the pair traded punches sparking an all in brawl. Souths would go on to win the match 26–24.
Gagai finished the season with 19 appearances and 11 tries. He played in the club's preliminary final defeat against Penrith as Souths fell at that stage in the competition for a third year in a row.
Accolades.
Wally Lewis Medal: 2017
External links.
 