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Meet the Knights teen who may create 90-year GF history...and could have easily been a Rooster
WHAT'S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au. Get the expert take on NRL Grand Final Day with FOX LEAGUE’s extensive coverage, plus full and mini replays available post-game on Kayo Sports |“Diesel Hagan will be in the six-man bench,” Knights coach Justin Holbrook confirmed on Saturday morning.
“He’s a great young player. He played New South Wales Under-19s this year, got Player of the Match and was their captain.
“Like a lot of young guys now, he’s keen and ready to go. ”“It’s definitely been a rollercoaster ride for him,” his father Ben told foxsports.com.au.
“Last year he was struggling to make their SG Ball side. He only had a couple of games and then this year he has done pretty well. ”In 2025, he only managed to feature in two SG Ball Cup matches - the first and last game of the season - after finding himself overlooked in favour of other young dummy-halves.
A rapid rise through the club’s pathways has seen Hagan go from fighting for his place in the Under-19s squad to featuring in NSW Cup, representing the Under-19s NSW Blues and finding himself on the cusp of an NRL debut.
“Definitely didn’t imagine this to happen so quickly. He had a training block with NRL at the start,” Ben said.
“He only did six weeks and then went back to SG Ball training and never in our wildest dreams would we have thought this could happen. “We were amazed . So happy and excited.
“We thought he might have been a chance when Phoenix got sent off. There was a fair chance he wouldn’t have been there and Diesel’s probably the next hooker in line. ”Before he began his journey in Newcastle, the Knights weren’t the only club interested in Hagan. Hagan not only explored the club’s headquarters in Moore Park, but also met with Chairman Nick Politis and got a glimpse of what life at the Tricolours could have looked like.
“It was always the Knights. They’re the local club but he did go to the Roosters for a look around one weekend,” his father Ben recalled.
“Lillian, his mother, took him down and they went and met Nick Politis and went through the headquarters - John Quayle organised that. “He lives out in Denman where we’re from, but nothing came out of it. We decided to keep him close to home. Diesel with his father Ben and uncle Tom.
Instead of heading to Sydney, Hagan, who is a lifelong Knights fan, opted to remain in Newcastle - a club his father won an SG Ball Cup premiership with in 2001 alongside the likes of Anthony Tupou, Greg Bird and Michael Ennis. However, the Hagan family still has a Roosters connection, with his two sisters playing for the Tricolours in the women’s pathways sides.
So while Diesel prepares to potentially make his debut, the family finds itself in a slightly awkward position.
“All the Roosters gear has been packed away. It’s been a little bit awkward for them, but they’ve got a good opportunity down there and they love it there. Diesel Hagan. Picture: Michael Gorton.
NSWRL Junior Reps, Harold Matthews Cup round three, Newcastle Knights vs Western Suburbs Magpies at St Johns Oval, 17 February 2024After choosing the Knights over the Roosters, Hagan’s path to this point has been long, but his family never doubted him. Growing up in Denman, around two hours from Newcastle, his family would make the long drive to watch the Knights whenever they could and there are photos of him donning a full Newcastle kit dating back to when he was just two years old.
“We’d always drive the kids down to watch at the stadium and he’s always been a Knights supporter,” Ben said. That childhood passion became something more serious when he was 15, after the club scouted him at the Under-15s Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League National Championships. This led to him joining the club’s pathways system and playing Under-17s Harold Matthews Cup a year young, helping the Knights reach the grand final alongside the likes of Cody Hopwood and Connor Votano.
“We were still travelling, driving him back and forth and eventually he and the girls were doing a lot of sport down here, so we bit the bullet and sold the farm and moved to Newcastle,” his father continued. “As I said to him today, “Some players never get the opportunity to be in a grand final at all so for him to be involved and be hanging out with the boys and be able to warm up with them and get ready is amazing.
”During a recent Knights training session at the Centre of Excellence, he found himself speaking with one of the all-time club greats, Andrew Johns.
“Diesel said he was talking to Joey at training. They had a captain’s run down there or a training session at the Centre of Excellence and he had a chat with him,” Ben said. Like most players, Hagan has endured setbacks along the way, most notably a syndesmosis injury at the back end of last season which sidelined him for around six weeks after he had finally begun playing Under-21s Jersey Flegg.
They have already travelled to Canberra and New Zealand hoping to see him make his debut, only for circumstances to intervene on both occasions. At Canberra, he was warming up before an intercept try and another Raiders score changed the Knights’ plans.
“Absolutely, we’ll be there, mate. There’s heaps of us going down. If there’s a chance he’ll get on, we want to be there with him,” he added. THE PERFECT MENTORHowever, long before he became Hagan’s mentor, he was the player the young hooker looked up to as he grew up.
Since Hagan and his family moved to Newcastle, the Knights legend has taken him under his wing and helped guide him through the highs and lows of chasing his NRL dream as he attempts to break into first grade. Hagan’s father said it was special watching someone his son idolised become such an important figure in his development as a player.
“He loves Danny and always has. Since we moved to Newcastle, Danny’s taken him under his wing and Danny’s been the best thing ever for me,” Ben said.
“Danny’s one of the nicest guys you’d ever meet, but he’s also probably one of the most competitive blokes you’d ever meet. “That’s probably rubbed off on Diesel as well. We’re just so thankful for everything Danny’s done for him. ”A former captain of the Knights, Buderus recently spoke about the rookie and what it has been like to watch his journey up close.
“Diesel is a fantastic kid. He’s someone that wants it yesterday. He’s just so hungry to be a part of being a Newcastle Knights and that’s his dream, to play in any NRL game,“ he said on“He’s yet to debut for the club. I know how much it just burns him to feel that, he’s been on standby probably four or five times this year.
“He’s got an amazing attitude. He’s a fantastic young kid with great values and someone that’s got a big future at the club.
“ While Buderus has played a major role in Hagan’s development, his father Ben was quick to point to the wider group of people who have helped get him to this point. From his junior coaches to the Knights current coaching staff, the Under-19s NSW Blues representative has had plenty of people in his corner as he’s chased his NRL dream.
“Matt Lantry, the coach of the SG Ball team, was outstanding for Diesel and helped get his confidence right up,” he said. “They just give them all the confidence to play and the club in general has been so good to Diesel ever since he got here.
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