NRL 2022: Payne Haas breaks silence over ‘Shoe-gate’ ban, off-field behaviour

Broncos superstar Payne Haas has made a blunt admission about his off-field behaviour but says he didn’t deserve to be suspended for his role in the ‘Shoe-gate Scuffle’.

Broncos prop Payne Haas believes he didn’t deserve to be suspended for his role in the ‘Shoe-gate Scuffle’ but the NSW Origin enforcer admits it’s time to grow up and stay out of trouble with the NRL.

Haas broke his silence on his altercation with Broncos teammate Albert Kelly after bravely overcoming a shoulder injury to spearhead Brisbane’s gutsy 34-14 come-from-behind defeat of the Bulldogs on Friday night.

The last time Haas faced Canterbury, he was embroiled in an off-field storm, clashing with an intoxicated Kelly just hours after Brisbane’s 16-10 disposal of the Bulldogs in round 2 at Homebush.

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The NRL integrity unit slapped Haas with a one-match ban and $10,000 fine - the third strike for Brisbane’s No.1 player after two previous off-field dramas that led to a total of $70,000 in fines and seven games in suspensions.

While Haas did not agree with the latest sanctions, the three-time Paul Morgan Medallist concedes he needs to address his own behaviour if he wants to enjoy a long and successful career in the NRL.

“I was a bit gutted to get suspended,” said Haas, speaking for the first time about his bust-up with Kelly.

Payne Haas ran for over 200m against the Bulldogs on Friday night. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty

“I felt bad for the boys, I felt I let down the whole team and the coaches and the fans.

“I wanted to make it up to them and it was good to get the win with the boys.

“I did stuff up a bit, but I felt like I wasn’t worthy of getting suspended.

“I felt like I didn’t do too much wrong, but we’re in the public eye and I can’t be doing that kind of stuff.

“I have to handle those sorts of situations better.

“I have learnt my lesson there.”

Rubbed out by the NRL for last week’s heavy 40-12 loss to premiers Penrith, Haas’ return for the Bulldogs clash was timely as the Broncos snapped a worrying four-game losing streak.

The Broncos received an early scare when Haas injured his shoulder in the opening hit-up of the match. But after having a pain-killing injection, the Blues bookend returned to destroy the Bulldogs with 210 metres in a remarkable display that underlined his toughness.

“I think it’s just a grade-one AC (joint injury),” Haas said.

“I will get it looked at by the physios and see what happens.

“It felt better when I got back out there. I had some needles (after coming off) and my shoulder felt better when I ran out there.

“I’m pretty happy I was able to get through the game. I did what I had to do. I kept it simple, ran hard and made my tackles.”

Payne Haas and Albert Kelly are filmed clashing.

Broncos coach Kevin Walters remains hopeful Haas will be available for next Thursday’s clash against an in-form Cronulla at Suncorp Stadium.

“He’s one tough bloke ‘Payno’,” Walters said.

“We needed him back out there, too, because it was a bit of a slog in that first half and the second half as well.

“I’m not sure if we can needle his shoulder, but we have a short turnaround against the Sharks in six days, so that’s a big game for us.”

Report: Broncos blitzkrieg blows Bulldogs away

Champion halfback Adam Reynolds produced a superb skipper’s knock to snap a four-game losing streak and save the Broncos from a Bulldogs boilover with a 34-14 escape act at Suncorp Stadium.

Don’t be fooled by the scoreline. Deep into the second half, the teetering Broncos could hear alarm bells.

Out of sorts for an hour, the erratic Broncos were in danger of a fifth consecutive defeat as a brave Bulldogs outfit ravaged by Covid rocked Brisbane to bolt to a 14-6 lead after 56 minutes.

Adam Reynolds turned back the clock in an outstanding display.

But in a stunning final-quarter blitzkrieg, the Broncos showed the fighting spirit of the Anzacs, sucker-punching last-placed Canterbury with five tries in 21 minutes to leave the Dogs sprawling in the trenches.

Reynolds led the brilliant riposte. The Broncos outlaid $2.4 million for Reynolds to get Brisbane home in a crisis and the big-name import did just that against the Bulldogs, scoring a try and having a hand in three others - two to Selwyn Cobbo - to ice a nerve-jangling contest.

The gutsy win eased the pressure valve on coach Kevin Walters, who heads into next Thursday’s round 8 clash against the red-hot Sharks at Suncorp with Brisbane having stabilised with a 3-4 record.

“That’s why we bought Adam,” Walters said.

“He is a cool head and when it’s time to go and put the foot down, he knows how to do that.”

ADAM BOMB

Reynolds was so good his four try assists was his best haul since his second season of NRL at South Sydney in 2013.

With blood dripping from his left eye after an early collision, Reynolds looked every bit the streetfighter as he hauled the Broncos back into the contest. He had a hand in Corey Oates’ 35th minute try to whittle the Bulldogs halftime lead to 10-6 and after the break, Reynolds reprised his title-winning magic.

Corey Oates scored the only Broncos try of an ordinary first-half performance.

With the Broncos trailing 14-12 with 18 minutes to play, the skipper stepped up, producing a clever chip kick which bounced superbly for Jordan Riki, who put Reynolds over to give the Broncos a lead they would never surrender.

When Reynolds threw a sublime long ball for the first of Cobbo’s two tries 13 minutes from time, the Bulldogs were toast.

“I wasn’t happy with the first half,” Reynolds said.

“It was pretty embarrassing, the Dogs were the better team for 50 minutes and I told the guys we needed to be disciplined and start holding the ball.”

HURT LOCKER HAAS

The Broncos felt the heat in the opening seconds when star prop Payne Haas injured his left shoulder in the first hit-up of the match.

The NRL’s No.1 prop left the field in the eighth minute for treatment and returned 12 minutes later to bravely play through the pain barrier. Despite a damaged AC joint, Haas was typically inspirational, continually powering through the rucks to keep the Broncos in the contest.

The NSW Origin enforcer finished with 210 metres from 23 runs. The next best Broncos forward, Keenan Palasia, ran for 97. Remarkable.

Cory Paix made the most of his start at hooker for the Broncos.

HOOKING GOOD

For the best part of 12 months, Cory Paix has been banging down the door for more game time at hooker. On Friday night, he was Brisbane’s game changer.

Sharing the hooking role with Billy Walters after Jake Turpin was ruled out with injury, Paix got sweet reward for an outstanding pre-season, crashing over from dummy-half for the 56th minute try that ignited Brisbane’s fightback.

While Reynolds was rightly Brisbane’s man of the match, Paix’s play was huge in the context of Brisbane’s turnaround.

“’Paixy’ is a natural No.9,” Walters said.

“The plan was for Billy (Walters) to take some sting out of the game and then for Paixy to come on.

“That’s been coming from Cory. It was good for him to get some joy with that try and his defence was pretty strong as well.”

POP GUN BRONCOS

Walters’ class of 2022 entered this game with the worst attack of any Broncos outfit in the club’s 34-year history. After six rounds, they had managed just 77 points. In the first half, Brisbane’s offence was sloppy and clunky, but their second stanza gave coach Walters hope that their attack will eventually click.

The 35th-minute set piece that saw Oates come off the back fence to crash over from a Reynolds pass was a neat play, but for the most part, Brisbane spluttered through their sets.

The Bulldogs got off to a flyer but couldn’t hang on.

There are still concerns with Brisbane’s playmaking spine. While Reynolds is a mainstay at halfback, three-quarters of Brisbane’s spine is still not settled.

In his season debut at five-eighth, Tyson Gamble made some major blunders, but he lifted in the second half.

Ultimately, if the Broncos want to play finals football, Reynolds needs cohesive playmakers around him.

“I don’t like moving the spine around, but we’ve had Covid and injuries,” Walters said.

“We’ve been forced to make a number of changes. The great teams have that consistency but that’s been taken away from us to some degree.”

Originally published as NRL 2022: Payne Haas breaks silence over ‘Shoe-gate’ ban, off-field behaviour