NRL market watch: Wallabies kick off Payne Haas talks, Nelson Asofa-Solomona stays at Storm

The Wallabies have escalated their raid on the NRL by officially commencing their poaching raid on Payne Haas – and promising more big names are to come.

Payne Haas is being chased by the Wallabies. Picture: NRL Photos

Rugby Australia bosses have commenced their poaching raid on Payne Haas, formally contacting the Broncos superstar to switch codes in the latest big-name attack on the NRL.

News Corp can reveal RA chairman Hamish McLennan has kicked-off talks with the Haas camp in a bombshell development ahead of Brisbane’s clash against South Sydney at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.

As first revealed by News Corp, Rugby Australia had Haas on their NRL hit-list after successfully poaching Roosters young gun Joseph Suaalii, who will defect to the 15-a-side code next season on a $4.8 million deal.

Now McLennan is stepping up his NRL recruitment drive. His interest in Haas has progressed to preliminary talks in a calculated move to secure the Broncos and NSW Origin enforcer for the 2025 season.

It is understood McLennan reached out to the Haas camp after the Brisbane prop stared for the Broncos in their 26-16 defeat of the Eels in Darwin last Friday night.

No formal offer has been made at this stage.

Payne Haas is hot property. Picture: Getty

Revelations of RA’s approach to Haas will intensify pressure on the Broncos. The 23-year-old is off-contract at the end of next year and Broncos hierarchy have made moves to secure the three-time Paul Morgan Medallist to a longer-term deal.

Some of rugby league’s most influential voices, including NRL Immortal Andrew Johns, have slammed McLennan as a publicity seeker, but the Haas approach is evidence the RA chair is serious about building the Wallabies brand for the 2027 World Cup.

“There is a lot of debate about (NRL) players coming to us and we can offer an experience that rugby league can’t. We are a world game,” McLennan said.

“At rugby, we’ve hidden our light under a bushel for too long against an aggressive competitor (the NRL).

“Signing Eddie Jones is a real move. Signing Joseph Suaalii is a real move.

“The Lions in 2025 is a real tour and convincing the Australian Government to host the Rugby World Cup in 2027, the third biggest sporting event in the world, is real.

“We’ve done all of this in just over two-and-a-half years, so we’re just getting started.

“I’m not going to get scared off by aggressive rugby league types.”

Payne Haas is being chased by the Wallabies. Picture: NRL Photos

Broncos coach Kevin Walters remains confident Haas is committed to Red Hill. The 118kg sensation has been with the Broncos since the age of 17 and his stated ambition is to win an NRL premiership.

That is now looming as a realistic objective, with the Broncos leading the NRL after eight rounds thanks largely to the engine-room brilliance of Haas, who weathered the pain of Brisbane’s disastrous wooden-spoon finish in 2020.

Haas is Brisbane’s highest-paid player on $848,000 this season and it is believed the Broncos’ proposed upgrade would see him become the first $1 million forward in the club’s history.

Haas’ former Broncos teammate, Ben Te’o, had six years in rugby overseas after defecting from the NRL.

The ex-Queensland Origin and Souths premiership-winning hitman, who played 18 Tests for England and the British and Irish Lions between 2016-19, believes Haas is tailormade for the NRL.

“I played with Payne and I really hope he stays in the NRL,” Te’o said.

“I have no doubt Payne would succeed in rugby because of the God-given gifts he has got, I believe he is one of a kind.

“But I think he has unfinished business in rugby league.

“Payne is only 23 and I left the NRL at 27.

“It would be a shame to see him leave the NRL because I have never seen any forward in rugby league who is built like Payne.

“The other thing to consider is it’s not as simple as chucking on a Wallabies jersey and taking on the British and Irish Lions.

Ben Te'o during his time with England. Picture: Getty

“It’s a foreign game and Payne would have a lot to learn.

“The Broncos are a great club, so I hope he stays there and hopefully wins a premiership with them.”

McLennan makes no apologies for targeting select NRL stars and says rugby league’s international game doesn’t hold a candle to the prestige of representing the Wallabies against the All Blacks, England, France and South Africa.

“I actually respect league, I grew up with it, and State of Origin is a brilliant spectacle,” the RA chairman said.

“But when it comes to the international game, league is really only up against the best from the Wigan Warriors.

“League knows that the Lions and a Rugby World Cup are unmatched.

“As we say in rugby, ‘Have fun, make money and see the world playing for your country’.”

STORM THOUGHT NAS WAS LOST TO RUGBY

On Monday, Melbourne boss Matt Tripp feared the Storm were losing the fight to keep Nelson Asofa-Solomona out of the clutches of the Australian Rugby Union.

The rival code was on a spending spree and they were looking to add Asofa-Solomona to the signature of Sydney Roosters teenager Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i.

The Storm were locked in a dogfight and Tripp was concerned enough to raise the issue with ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys and NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo.

By Tuesday morning, those fears had eased and most concern centred around the Dolphins, who were looking to add the big New Zealander to their stable of former Storm stars.

Tripp was still on edge. Then, a couple of hours before kickoff on Anzac Day, Asofa-Solomona sought out Tripp to tell him he was staying in Melbourne. Relief washed across the Storm chair.

The Storm boys were pumped to hear Nelson Asofa-Solomona had re-signed for four years! ⚡️🙌 pic.twitter.com/Df7hMD2iYK

— Herald Sun Sport (@heraldsunsport) April 26, 2023

He then shared the news with the Storm players in the sheds straight after their win over the Warriors at AAMI Park, prompting joyous scenes as Asofa-Solomona was swamped by his teammates.

His retention is a huge boost for the Storm and the NRL given Asofa-Solomona had been targeted by Australian Rugby Union as part of their concerted attack on the code.

The ARU has already secured Sydney Roosters star Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii from 2025 and are believed to be circling Payne Haas with a view to making him their face in Queensland.

“Nelson already has a tremendous record of achievement here at Storm and we’re sure he

will continue to build on that over the coming years,” he said.

Nelson Asofa-Solomona has re-signed with Melbourne Storm.

“He’s in the prime of his career and is embracing his new role as one of the leaders of our

forward pack.

“We hope Nelson will be a one-club player with Storm. This new contract will go a long way

to helping to achieve that aim as he progresses towards and beyond the 200-game

milestone.

“I’m sure our members and fans will be delighted to know they will be cheering on big NAS

for many more years to come.”

Asofa-Solomona made his debut for the Storm in round eight of the 2015 competition after being recruited out of high school rugby union in New Zealand.

He has gone on to play 167 matches and featured in the NRL finals series in each of his eight seasons in first grade.

The 27-year-old has also played 12 Test matches for New Zealand and was man-of-the-match in Storm’s victorious World Cup Challenge team in 2018.

His rugby union background made him a logical target for the ARU and it is understood they weighed in with a lucrative bid to snatch him from the Storm.

WAYNE ADDS VETERAN

The Dolphins have made a consolation signing for missing out on Jack Wighton.

St George-Illawarra prop Josh Kerr will join the club next season.

The 27-year-old front-rower has signed a two-year contract with the Dolphins, rejecting an offer to stay at St George-Illawarra.

Kerr is a former Redcliffe junior who has played strongly for the Dragons this year.

“Josh is a really important recruit for the Dolphins and a good story for the game in general,” said Dolphins CEO Terry Reader.

Josh Kerr is heading to the Dolphins

“One of the key reasons to put in the 17th team was to give more young local players a pathway to the NRL through our system.

“Josh is an example of a good young Dolphins player that had to head to Melbourne and then Sydney to make it in the NRL.

“Now he will be able to represent his junior club in the best rugby league competition in the world.

“In addition, he is a big and fast athletic forward with a point of difference who will add some size and balance to our pack.

“And there is no doubt with his local history that Josh will become an immediate fan favourite with the Dolphins.”

Originally published as NRL market watch: Wallabies kick off Payne Haas talks, Nelson Asofa-Solomona stays at Storm