{"id":758575,"date":"2026-06-25T04:13:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T04:13:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/758575\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T04:13:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T04:13:23","slug":"nrl-news-2026-dane-gagai-signs-with-brisbane-broncos-days-after-ben-hunt-re-signing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/758575\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL news 2026: Dane Gagai signs with Brisbane Broncos days after Ben Hunt re-signing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Broncos<\/a> have doubled down on their contentious ploy to sign ageing stars, securing Dane Gagai<\/a> on a one-year deal for the 2027 NRL<\/a> season.<\/p>\n

The confirmation of Gagai\u2019s deal comes three days after Brisbane announced the re-signing of Ben Hunt<\/a> on a one-year contract for 2027<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dane Gagai in Knights colours in April.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Broncos great Corey Parker is among the critics<\/a> of Brisbane\u2019s decision to re-sign Hunt, who will turn 37 in the first month of next season.<\/p>\n

But despite the blowback, the Broncos have locked up another veteran in 35-year-old centre Gagai, who will return to the club where his NRL career began in 2011.<\/p>\n

The 328-match NRL great will be 36 when the 2027 season rolls around.<\/p>\n

While Hunt\u2019s form has been underwhelming in his 18th season in the top flight, Gagai has been brilliant for Newcastle this year.<\/p>\n

He has been a standout for the fifth-placed Knights at right centre, so much so that tongues began to wag earlier in the State of Origin series about a potential Queensland recall.<\/p>\n

The Maroons great is certain to have a tremendous impact on the Broncos\u2019 culture and be a superb mentor for the club\u2019s young crop \u2013 but the jury is out on what kind of form he will be capable of producing at 36.<\/p>\n

Captain and champion halfback Adam Reynolds<\/a> will retire at season\u2019s end, while Payne Haas<\/a>, the best front-rower in the game, will leave to join the Rabbitohs.<\/p>\n

In locking up Hunt and Gagai, the Broncos have ensured their leadership stocks won\u2019t be ravaged.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Broncos are very excited to see Dane making a return to Red Hill in 2027,\u201d said recruitment boss Simon Scanlan.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis form this season has been outstanding and he has undoubtedly been one of the form centres this year.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dane Gagai in action for Brisbane in 2011, his first season in the NRL.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we continue to develop our young outside backs, having experienced professionals around them is incredibly important. Dane\u2019s leadership, professionalism and proven performance at the highest level make him a valuable addition to our club.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reigning premiers are desperate to beat the Roosters at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night on the back of a bye.<\/p>\n

Sitting in 13th on the ladder after six losses in a row, Brisbane are in grave danger of going from winning a premiership to bombing out of finals contention.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery game\u2019s a must-win now as you\u2019re rolling through,\u201d coach Michael Maguire<\/a> told media on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation we\u2019re in \u2013 this group does thrive off that.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo let\u2019s look forward to seeing what comes of it tomorrow night.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Broncos have doubled down on their contentious ploy to sign ageing stars, securing Dane Gagai on a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":758576,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-758575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=758575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/758576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=758575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=758575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}