All in the family for Gagai as magic happens for milestone men

As the Knights gear up for their Women in League Round showdown with the Titans, veteran centre Dane Gagai will pause to reflect on the importance of family.

Wife Kelly, sons Dante and Cruz, and daughter Aiyana are his world outside of football, so having Dante make his ballboy debut at Magic Round as Dane played his 200th game for the Knights made the occasion extra special.

One of Dane's fondest memories is being a ballboy for his dad growing up in Mackay, and now Dante has savoured the same experience as the Knights came up with a crucial win over Souths.

On the eve of his ninth birthday, Dante ran out onto Suncorp Stadium next to his dad, who became just the ninth man to play 200 games for the Knights.

“It’s an awesome feeling and we also had another milestone with Fletcher Sharpe’s 21st… he turned it on, as did all of the boys,” Gagai said.

“I think Jacob Saifiti was massive for us, Adam Elliott… but the most special moment for me was having my son lead us out, making his debut as a ball boy.

“I remember doing it for my dad when I was a young fella growing up in Mackay and to have my son do it on my 200th Knights game at Suncorp Stadium, at the stadium I made my debut, is a moment I’ll never forget.

“This stadium always feels like home even though I’m so far down south. It’s where I made my debut and ran out behind my cousin Josh Hoffman… those are moments I’ll never forget and like I said, to be able to have my son run us out on the field is such a special moment for myself.

“It meant more to me than being my 200th but having him do it on my 200th Knights game just made it extra special.”

Dante, who plays winger and fullback, said he loved the experience.

“It was very good… I liked watching my dad,” the Year 3 pupil said, adding that t was 'excellent' being so close to the action.

“I like watching dad because I want to be like my dad… better than my dad. I want to play for Queensland.”

Gagai said playing during Magic Round, and getting the win after five losses on the bounce was, well, magical.

“You could feel the energy as soon as we arrived here,” he said.

“Everyone is just buzzing. As long as everyone stays safe and just enjoys it for what it is… it’s such a good weekend for everyone – players, fans. It’s something I always look forward to.”

With six games for the Broncos and 92 at Souths to go with his 200 at the Knights, Gagai is just two games short of his 300th NRL game.

He will bring up the triple century against the Eels on the same weekend Maroons coach Billy Slater names his team for Origin One in Brisbane.

After earning a recall for Game Three of last year's series, Gagai would love nothing better than getting a shot at the Blues in the series opener on May 28.

“You play yourselves into those teams,” said Gagai, who has scored 12 tries across 23 appearances for the Maroons.

“We’ve got so many great Queenslanders, but I haven’t ruled myself out yet. I still think I have plenty to offer.

“At this point in time, I’m just so focused on getting our season going (at the Knights). We’ve only had a couple of wins and we’ve had a bit of a rocky start to the year, but I think this game here will get a lot of our confidence going and I’m just focusing on getting a few more wins and whatever happens off the back of that, happens.”