Brisbane Broncos player Payne Haas fined for driving offences

Rising Brisbane NRL star Payne Haas has been fined $500 and lost his licence for six months after pleading guilty to driving offences.

Brisbane Broncos NRL player Payne Haas (left) is seen leaving the Ipswich Magistrates Court this morning. Picture: Darren England/AAP

Rising Brisbane NRL star Payne Haas has been fined $500 and lost his licence for six months after pleading guilty to driving offences.

Haas, 20, was caught driving while using his mobile phone and without a licence in Ipswich last month, claiming he chose to drive because he had no other way to get to Broncos training.

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The 194cm, 119kg prop appeared in Ipswich Magistrates Court this morning.

Haas pulled up to a red light in his suburb RedbankPlains about 12.40pm on March 1 and was scrolling through his phone when police pulled up alongside his white Land Rover.

He was pulled over but could not produce a licence.

The court heard he had lost his learner licence due to demerit points.

“Normally his de facto wife takes him to training,” his lawyer Campbell MacCullum told the court.

“She unfortunately couldn’t that day. He exhausted all avenues apart from, of course, calling a taxi.”

Haas, who played his fourth NRL game in the Broncos’ loss to the Wests Tigers on Thursday, did not comment outside court.

It was his first game of the season after serving a four-game ban and being fined $20,000 for failing to co-operate in a leagueinvestigation relating to an incident involving his family.