Paul "Diddy" Dan is a rugby union player hailing from Newcastle, New South Wales

Newcastle, New South Wales

The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...

.

Career

Rising to prominence through St Francis Xavier College under the tutelage of Mark Wright, Dan played first grade for the Hamilton Hawks as a teenager and was selected in the New South Wales Waratahs

New South Wales Waratahs

The New South Wales Waratahs are an Australian rugby union football team, representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super 15 Super Rugby competition...

 junior teams. Observers noted that Dan was unlucky to miss selection in the junior Australian team, however he moved to Sydney to pursue his career and played first grade for the Manly Marlins

Manly RUFC

Manly Rugby Union Football Club are a rugby union club based in Manly, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. The club was formed in 1906 and competes in the New South Wales Rugby Union competitions, the Shute Shield and Tooheys New Cup. Manly, known as the Marlins, play their home games at Manly...

 in the Tooheys New Cup

Tooheys New Cup

The Tooheys New Cup is a rugby union competition established by the New South Wales Rugby Union in 2002 as a stepping stone between the existing grade rugby and Super 14 competitions. Open to the existing 12 grade clubs, the TNC features Super 14 players not on international duty and the...

. After a devastating hamstring kept him out of rugby for over a year, Dan returned to Newcastle in 2007 where he led the Hamilton Hawks to lose the NHRU grand final. In 2008 Dan played number ten for both Newcastle and NSW Country, leading the latter to the Australian Country Rugby Championships. He also won a Grand Final with Hamilton in 2008, defeating University in the decider.