Done deal: Knights veteran handed one-year extension
Off contract at the end of this year and now aged 34, Gagai's future had appeared uncertain as he entered the final months of 2025 unsigned.
That prompted an online petition for the club to re-sign the former Queensland State of Origin star.
The deal is now complete, leaving Tyson Frizell and Adam Elliott as the remaining two veterans unsigned at the Knights.
"Everyone knows Dane brings experience and competitiveness to every contest, every day," Knights recruitment manager Peter O'Sullivan said.
DAWG 😤⚔️#defendthekingdom pic.twitter.com/VGbehNQU07
— Newcastle Knights (@NRLKnights) July 29, 2025
"He has worked really hard for his extension, his tenacity to never give up and willingness to play in any position, especially through extenuating circumstances, shows his true character.
"This extension compliments and balances our squad perfectly for next season."
Gagai's extension means his career will go into a 16th season, having played 309 games since his debut with Brisbane in 2011.
The centre spent six seasons at Newcastle between 2012 and 2017, before returning to the club in 2022 after a four-year stint at South Sydney.
Gagai has been one of the shining lights for the Knights in a side that has struggled to find form and consistency.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Golden joy for Meg Harris as Aussie teammate denied history in world record drama
Meg Harris' gamble to focus all her energy on the 50m freestyle has paid off after the Aussie claimed the first individual swimming world championships gold of her career. Harris' incredible display came as Mollie O'Callaghan was denied a record-breaking 12th gold at the worlds in Singapore after Team USA broke the world record in the women's 4x100m medley final. Harris' silver medal at the Paris Games was one of the great underdog stories of last year's Olympics, but she went one better in Singapore after winning the women's 50m freestyle final in 24.02 seconds. Harris touched in first ahead of Chinese pair Qingfeng Wu (24.26s) and Yujie Cheng (24.28s) to claim the first world title of her career, after shifting her focus from the 100m freestyle to become a one-lap specialist. The 23-year-old pulled out of the 100m freestyle after swimming the heat at the national trials. And Harris even had to be convinced by Australia's coaches to swim in the 4x100m freestyle relay on the opening night of the worlds, where she helped the Aussie team win gold. Harris' focus on the 50m free was a huge risk, considering she'd already won two Olympic golds and five at the world titles as part of Australia's dominant relay teams. But the decision paid off handsomely for Harris in Singapore as she emulated men's sprint specialist Cameron McEvoy, to give Australia golds in both 50m freestyle events. 'I still don't have the words to process this, but this is a dream,' Harris said. 'I felt really good the first 15m and that's been my weakness so far. I knew if I got that right I just had to hold on.' Victory also saw Harris become Australia's first female 50m freestyle world champion since Bronte Campbell in 2015. Really enjoyed watching the swimming World championships. Meg Harris wins gold in the 50 metres final. — The Oracle (@BigOtrivia) August 3, 2025 Her first individual WORLD TITLE! 🙌🇦🇺Meg Harris was the fastest in the Women's 50m Freestyle today! 🚀#AQUASingapore25 #Swimming — World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) August 3, 2025 What a legend 😍Meg Harris dominates the 50 free final clocking 24.02 to claim her first ever World gold medal 🥇She looked like she couldn't believe it 😆#AQUASingapore25 #Swimming — tsveye (@tsv3y3) August 3, 2025 WORLD CHAMPION!! 👑🌏Meg Harris rocketed her way down the 2025 World Championships pool to win her first ever individual world title 🚀🥇👏The 50m freestyle crown is yours Meg! 💚💛 📸 Delly Carr — Australian Dolphins Swim Team (@DolphinsAUS) August 3, 2025 Mollie O'Callaghan denied 12th gold as USA set new WR Meanwhile, O'Callaghan's quest to set a new national record of 12 golds at the world championships came up short in a dramatic women's 4x100m medley final. O'Callaghan is tied with Ian Thorpe on a national record 11 gold medals at the worlds but she was denied a historic 12th as the powerful American team broke the world record in the relay final. Team USA combined superbly to set a new world benchmark of three minutes 49.34 seconds, with the Dolphins' team of Kaylee McKeown, Ella Ramsay, Alex Perkins and O'Callaghan taking silver in the last race of the championships. It saw Australia finish the meet second on the standings with eight gold, six silver and six bronze, behind the formidable USA (nine, 11, nine). Australia's Jenna Forrester also picked up a silver medal for the green and gold on the final night of competition after finishing second behind Summer McIntosh in the women's 400m medley final. Victory saw the Canadian megastar sign off her incredible campaign with four gold medals in Singapore. Sam Short's illness-plagued meet finished with fourth place in the men's 1500m, while Isaac Cooper was seventh in the men's 50m backstroke and Brendon Smith came last in the men's 400m medley. O'Callaghan was Australia's most successful swimmer of the meet with three gold medals and two silvers, while backstroke queen McKeown repeated her feat from the Paris Games with a 100-200m backstroke golden double. with AAP
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fainu '100 per cent' behind coach's halfback plan
Latu Fainu says he is "100 per cent" behind Benji Marshall if the Wests Tigers coach decides he needs to keep starting from the bench. Fainu had been earmarked as the Tigers' long-term halfback now that Lachlan Galvin has left for Canterbury, but found his minutes curtailed in recent weeks by coach Marshall. In the round-21 loss to Penrith, Marshall benched Fainu in the second half and did not use him again, and then started him from the interchange in the shock defeat of Galvin's Bulldogs. Off-contract utility Adam Doueihi was shifted to halfback on game day against the Bulldogs and was the Tigers' best player in the 28-14 win. Marshall, himself a former halves prodigy, has defended taking a slow-and-steady approach to developing Fainu, who is only 19 games into his first-grade career. "I'll make a decision each week that I think's best for the team," the coach said of his halves combination going forward. "Long-term (Fainu) will develop and understand that position and be better at it, but we're definitely not in a rush with him, that's for sure." Marshall has used Fainu as a lightweight middle forward at times in his first two NRL seasons, with the 20-year-old honing his utility value during his time in Manly's junior system. Fainu said he was happy coming on from the bench and playing second fiddle to the in-form Doueihi if that's what Marshall required. "A hundred per cent, whatever the team needs," Fainu told AAP. "I can play anywhere, I've been playing my whole juniors in different types of positions. I'm comfortable doing whatever the team needs." Fainu has shown promise in an injury-hampered second NRL season, enjoying a career-best game in the shock defeat of the Sydney Roosters Hamstring and thumb injuries have combined to restrict him to only 10 of a possible 20 games, though, with Fainu comfortable playing the long game to become a regular NRL halfback. "I'm just building minutes into my game, just building confidence," he said. "I had a lot of injuries, so the main priority is just building confidence into me." Watch all the highlights as the Wests Tigers take on the Bulldogs in Round 22! 🎥 — NRL (@NRL) August 3, 2025 Fainu is confident the Tigers are turning a corner after three consecutive wooden spoons, with Sunday's win likely precluding them from "winning" the dreaded prize in four straight seasons. With four games to go in the regular season, this year's Tigers have already won as many games as in the 2022 and 2023 campaigns combined. "We're building something great," Fainu said. "There are circumstances of people leaving, but at the end of the day we're still building, we're still getting better each and every single day. We're just improving."
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jelena Dokic chokes back tears in tribute to Aussie legend after surprise Logies win
Jelena Dokic choked back tears in a heartfelt tribute to Australian tennis legend Todd Woodbridge after her surprise win at the Logies on Sunday night. The Aussie tennis fan favourite admitted he was 'in shock' after her documentary 'Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story' took out the prize for Best Factual or Documentary Program at the Australian television night of nights in Sydney. A clearly stunned Dokic said she had nothing prepared and despite being given just 30 seconds for her acceptance speech, joked that she'd need 30 seconds just to compose herself after being awarded the Logie. "I'm actually in shock. I didn't think this was possible and I didn't have a speech prepared," an emotional Dokic began. "I said to my Channel Nine team and Todd that we will wing it... I underestimated this one," she continued. The 42-year-old went on to thank those who made the documentary possible, including the production companies and team behind it, as well as Channel Nine for broadcasting her story, and the backing they've shown her since joining the network. The Aussie tennis star's documentary 'Unbreakable', which was adapted from her 2017 memoir of the same name, aired in cinemas late last year and shocked with some of its awful revelations. But Nine's broadcast saw it reach a much wider audience and saw Dokic commended for shining a light on some of the horrific treatment she received at the hands of father Damir. Dokic reached World No.4 and looked to have the world at her feet early in her career, but she was doing it all in spite of physical and mental abuse from father and coach Damir. The 42-year-old has since become a powerful voice in the battles against domestic violence and mental health and her words for survivors facing those challenges resonated with viewers around the country on Sunday night. Jelena Dokic's powerful message about domestic violence "This is not about winning,' she continued. "This is a win for victims and survivors, especially of domestic violence and mental health," she said. "To not just have those stories heard but for them to reclaim their life, to find their voice and not just survive but to thrive. To do what we need to actually be able to talk about it." RELATED: Jannik Sinner triumph could force Aussie coach to backflip on exit call Flood of support after tennis rocked by news about Wimbledon finalist The Aussie fan favourite delivered a poignant message to young women around the country to chase their dreams and not allow others to question their self-worth. "Never allow anyone to take your worth or happiness or smile away," she said. "Believe in your goals and dreams. I am standing here as someone who literally had that dream. I believed in it. I didn't give up on it. If I can do it, you can do it too." Jelena Dokic reserves special praise for Todd Woodbridge But Dokic's most heartfelt message was reserved for Aussie tennis legend and colleague Woodbridge, who said none of it would have been possible without his unwavering support. 'You're my person,' she said as the tears came spilling out. "When I retired 11 years ago, you told me I could be a commentator and speaker and bring my story to life. "I looked at you and said, "I don't know who you're talking about, but you're not talking about me. I was a person who couldn't string two sentences together and had no social skills. You believed in me professionally. I hope everyone finds a Todd like I did.' A beaming Woodbridge was clearly moved as the cameras panned to the Aussie tennis legend in the crowd, before Dokic wrapped up her memorable Logies speech. "You're a massive reason why I'm standing here in every single way. "If everyone can have a father and mentor like Todd, they would be very fortunate. Thank you, thank you everyone."
