Knights’ Dane Gagai putting pain of family death behind him as he moves forward

IT was the image of devastation that brought home to fans the human side of rugby league. And two months on, Dane Gagai still struggles to talk about it.

IT was the image of utter devastation that brought home to fans the human side of rugby league.

The sight of an inconsolable Dane Gagai crying uncontrollably on the shoulder of teammate Tariq Sims just moments after the Newcastle Knights were crushed 62-0 by Cronulla at Hunter Stadium in May.

Gagai’s emotions exploded as the enormity of the result sank in on top of the heartbreaking news of the loss of his grandmother just hours before the match.

More than two months later as he prepares for Sunday’s return bout against the Sharks, Gagai still finds it almost impossible to talk about.

“Obviously, it was a tough one losing a family member,” he said.

“It’s still tough to talk about. But I’ve just tried to stay positive and tried to move on. Hopefully, make this game (against the Sharks) have a lot better result than last time.”

It was the low point in what has been a rollercoaster season for the Knights fullback.

While he has felt the anguish of a season at club level that has produced just one win, he has also ridden the high of an outstanding Origin series for Queensland that has at least put him in the frame for Kangaroos selection for the Four Nations tournament at the end of the year.

Gagai says he has tried to bring much of watch he learnt playing alongside some of the greats of the game in the Origin environment back to the youthful Knights squad.

“There are so many great leaders in that Queensland team that every time I go in, I just sit back and try and take in as much as I can,” he said.

“They are some of the greats and I just try to bring back what I’ve learnt and try to implement it into my game and just be the best player I can when I come back to Newcastle.”

Gagai missed the 20-16 loss to Melbourne last Sunday but believes his embattled team has set itself a new benchmark for the remainder of the season, even with the loss of four players through injury and suspension.

“We just base it off the game against the Storm,” he said when asked about the teams’s goals for the rest of the season.

“They’re one of the top teams in the comp. They have been one of the top teams for years and the boys matched it with them and I thought they played outstanding.

“I think we set that as our benchmark now and just do everything we can to move forward and get better from that game.”

Originally published as Knights’ Dane Gagai putting pain of family death behind him as he moves forward