Indigenous Newcastle Knights centre Dane Gagai says Olympic icon Cathy Freeman, his father and cousin Josh Hoffman were the ones that inspired him to chase his NRL dream.

This weekend is the NRL Indigenous Round with the Knights up against the high-flying Cronulla Sharks at Hunter Stadium.

“Growing up watching my dad play got me into rugby league – he was obviously my favourite player to watch. Then my cousin Josh Hoffman signed with the Brisbane Broncos and I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” Gagai said.

“I think the biggest name to come out of Mackay was Cathy Freeman. She was obviously one athlete who showed that you could make something of yourself coming out of Mackay.

“The difference rugby league makes in the Indigenous Round is raising awareness and closing the gap, bringing community together and recognising the traditional owners of the land.”