Diesel Hagan has wanted to be a Newcastle Knights player for as long as he can remember.
He's been seriously chasing that goal now for years.
Travelling down from his family's farm in Gungal, north-west of Denman, firstly to watch NRL games and then to train and play in the junior grades.
He even moved to Newcastle at age 16 to ease the travel journey.
Now, after recently signing an extended and upgraded contract, he is a step closer to achieving his NRL dream.
Hagan is now a development player, sitting just outside the top-30 roster. He will rise into that squad for the 2028 season.
"My old man played for Denman and I just stuck around him and all the boys at Denman," Hagan, who spoke to reporters for the first time on Wednesday, said of how his league journey started out.
"I've been playing since I was like four, since I can remember.
"It's all I've ever wanted to do. I just love football."
One of Newcastle's next generation coming through the grades, Hagan recently began training full-time with the NRL squad.
He has had quite the year, rising from the under-19 SG Ball side into NSW Cup, while also featuring for the under-21 Jersey Flegg side at times as well.
Outside of club football, he captained NSW in last month's under-19 State of Origin, a game which also featured fellow Knights lower-grade players Toby Winter (NSW) and Kingston Seve (Queensland)
"First time for the Blues, it was pretty special," Hagan, a former St Joseph's Catholic College Aberdeen student, said.
"I wasn't expecting it. I wasn't even captain for the SG side. So when they told me, I was surprised.
"It just gives me confidence to know that all the work I'm putting in, and all the work that the Knights staff and the boys are putting [into] me, it's going towards something."
A half or hooker in juniors but now primarily a hooker, Hagan is relishing learning from the likes of Knights legend Danny Buderus, now an NRL assistant coach, and Knights and New Zealand hooker Phoenix Crossland. First-grade regulars Jacob Saifiti and Mat Croker have also been role models.
After five NSW Cup appearances, coming off the bench in all of them, Hagan will strive towards reaching the NRL side in coming seasons. The NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg sides have byes this weekend.
"The senior guys have been really helping me out," Hagan said.
"I was only coming in one day a week last year, but now that I'm here full-time with them all, I can take a lot from the way they go about their work ... a lot of professionalism, especially the senior guys like 'J-Saf' and 'Crokes'."
Knights playmaker Sandon Smith said Hagan had slotted into the NRL squad seamlessly and from what he has seen so far, the Denman Devils junior was destined to reach first grade.
"Diesel is a top fella," Smith said.
"A real good kid around the crew, he is a likeable dude and he just works hard.
"He's one of those guys that will make 50 tackles every week, he is committed to his craft and I think he has got a long career [ahead of him] in the NRL."
