‘Catastrophic blow’ could haunt the Broncos for years

If the Broncos lose gun prop Payne Haas to a rival club, it could cause the club so much pain it won’t recover for years.

Payne Haas and Kevin Walters.

Michael Ennis believes if the Broncos lose Payne Haas to a rival club it will be catastrophic for the club as Kevin Walters revealed he doesn’t expect his star prop to be suspended.

Haas put a tough week in the spotlight behind him after the fallout from the video of his tussle with teammate Albert Kelly, to nearly lead the Broncos to a famous win.

The 24-20 loss to the Roosters on Friday night showed just how important Haas is to the Broncos and Walters defended his star man post match.

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“No, I’m not expecting that,” Walters said when asked about a possible suspension for Haas.

“We are expecting him to play against the Panthers.

“He is a very strong character.

“The plan was to play him in that first 40 and he got through that pretty well.

“I said this yesterday, but I don’t think Payne did a lot wrong in the video.

“We are sticking by him and Albert. We need to support them and get around them and make sure that they are OK.

“Payne is fine. He is mentally very tough.”

As conjecture around his future swirls, Ennis believes the Broncos need to do everything in their power to keep Haas at the club or it could set the club back for years to come.

Haas was again one of the Broncos best against the Roosters.

Ennis also agreed with Walters that Haas doesn’t deserve to be suspended based on what happened in the video with Kelly.

“I don’t know whether he will be, I really don’t,” Ennis said of a potential suspension for Haas.

“Payne is so important to this Brisbane side. I thought him and Kotoni Staggs tonight were phenomenal.

“Both of them individually can be so proud of their efforts for what they gave for their club tonight.

“Payne wouldn’t have liked all the headlines this week and the distraction and the spotlight that has been brought on the club in terms of the negative press.

“But the only way you can respond is through your performance on the field and he did that tonight.

“And he does it every week for them.

“It will be such a blow for Brisbane if he doesn’t remain at the club long-term.

“I know he has got two years to go but there is a lot of talk at the moment about where Payne’s future will be.

“It will be a catastrophic blow for them if they lose Payne. He’s so good.”

Benji Marshall backed up Ennis’ sentiments in saying that Haas is so far ahead of every other Broncos player.

“I love that performance from Brisbane for a couple of reasons,” Marshall said.

“They had a few dramas in the week and those were put to bed by their performance. They turned up and they made a statement.

“Payne Haas for me is their best player by a mile. We all know what he does on the field for them.

“Tonight again he was brilliant. He was a mile above the rest.”

Originally published as ‘Catastrophic blow’ could haunt the Broncos for years