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'For Mum': Why Māori captaincy means so much to Gagai
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Dane Gagai has vowed to lead Māori All Stars to victory on Saturday night for his mum and to repay the commitment of his fellow co-captain James Fisher-Harris to represent his culture.
Gagai, who has Ngāti Pikiāo heritage through his mother Tania, will co-captain the Māori team alongside Fisher-Harris in Saturday night's annual All Stars clash at CommBank Stadium.
The Queensland Origin star also qualifies for the Indigenous team through his father Ray, who was born in Mackay to parents from the Torres Strait Islands and played for the Broncos in 1989.
It will be third time that Gagai, who has played in three All Stars matches for the Indigenous team, has represented his Māori heritage but he on both previous occasions - in 2019 and 2024 - he was on the losing team.
"It is a massive honour to be able to co-captain with Fish in such an important game of the year, not just for ourselves as players, or our families, but for our culture," Gagai said.
"When they first bought the Māori All Stars team back [in 2019] I had an opportunity to come and represent my mum's side of the family for the first time, and that was massively important for me.
"This will be the third time, and I have never had a win in this jersey, so that is something that is really important to me - just being able to get that win for my mum, and also everyone else."
Gagai said Fisher-Harris's determination to play, despite moving to Auckland and being a key figure in the Warriors' preparations for their season opening match in Vegas, highlighted the importance to players in pulling on the Māori jersey.
Fisher-Harris, who has returned home after winning four consecutive premierships with the Panthers to be closer to family, debuted for his new club in last Friday night's Pre-season Challenge match against the Sharks.
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From the field: Gagai
The prop flew from Sydney to Auckland after the match and joined the Māori team camp late so the Warriors could announce him and Mitch Barnett as 2025 co-captains, but he always insisted on playing in the All Stars match.
"For anyone that thinks this is just an exhibition game, they obviously have to do a bit of research and look into culture and see what culture means," Gagai said.
"To us, and to the Indigenous team, culture is everything and that is what makes us who we are.
"We get to go out on that stage and get to represent our cultures, but it is more than just the game on Saturday night, it is about everything we do in and around camp, around each other and everything is culture-based and getting connected to who we are.
"Fish coming back just shows how important this game is. He played in the first trial match, he has flown into camp late to play for us and then he has got to fly to Vegas to play over there, but he wasn't missing this game."
Like Cronulla's Puru twins, Hohepa and Niwhai, who will play for the Indigenous All Stars, Gagai is eligible for both teams and had previously represented his father Ray's side of the family in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
However, Gagai is just as proud of his Māori heritage through Tania, whose brother Shane is the father of former Kiwis fullback Josh Hoffman, and he has a large extended family in New Zealand.
"I don't know if some people just see this as an exhibition game, but for us it is about our cultures, and I think that showed last year when you saw some of the collisions and how hard we go out there that this means a lot to us," he said.
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Gagai puts a big hit on Latrell
"To be able to get a win for my mum would be nice but also for these boys who are representing their families and also everyone back in New Zealand and the Māori culture."
Titans prop Shannon Mato and Eels forward Kennedy Cherrington will co-captain the Māori Wahine.
