Boom Brisbane rookie Payne Haas promises to bring the Broncos a premiership
Payne Haas has assured Brisbane he will “never stuff-up again” and has vowed to repay the club’s faith for not sacking him by helping break the longest premiership drought in Broncos history.
Broncos
Don't miss out on the headlines from Broncos. Followed categories will be added to My News.
NRL sensation Payne Haas has assured Brisbane he will “never stuff-up again” and has vowed to repay the club’s faith for not sacking him by helping break the longest premiership drought in Broncos history.
Haas has broken his silence to detail his six months of anguish over off-field events that triggered NRL and police investigations, court appearances and left the 19-year-old in danger of having his $3.4 million Broncos contract torn up.
The 118kg prop tells The Courier-Mail why he did not fully comply with an NRL integrity unit probe and how his disabled brother Chase, who suffered spinal cord damage as a toddler, is driving his quest to succeed in the NRL.
Haas returned to the field last week against Wests Tigers after being fined $20,000 by the Broncos and stood down for four games for failing to completely assist with an NRL probe into two off-field incidents.
The Broncos then hit Haas with a fresh $10,000 fine last Monday - 20 times his court-imposed $500 penalty - after he pleaded guilty to unlicensed driving and using a mobile phone while behind the wheel.
Haas accepts his embryonic NRL career has started terribly off the field but the four-game rookie has pledged to stay out of trouble in his mission to spearhead Brisbane’s first premiership win since 2006.
“I’ve had enough trouble. It’s time I started acting like a professional footballer,” said Haas, who wears the famous Broncos No.8 jumper against Canberra on Sunday at GIO Stadium.
“It hasn’t been an easy time. The past few months have been a nightmare.
“It’s been a reality check _ I’m determined to never stuff-up again.
“During my time on the sidelines, all I kept thinking about was making amends for what I’ve done and the best way I can repay the Broncos is by playing the way I know I can.
“I’ve seen other blokes waste their talent, but that’s not me. I’m hungry for success. My dad was training me from the age of 12 to play rugby league.
“I want to win a premiership for the Broncos. I would love nothing more than to do it for the club after everything I’ve been through.
“Winning grand finals at any level is what drives you. It’s like that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and that’s the pot of gold for me - an NRL premiership.
“I know some people don’t like to talk premierships but I owe that to the Broncos.
“I’d love to say I helped the Brisbane Broncos become the NRL premiers. I want to lift that trophy for the club.”
Haas admits he should have been more compliant when he was quizzed by NRL integrity unit chiefs.
They probed two incidents - one involving a physical dispute at a family property involving his brother and a second related to a spectator brawl at a junior-league game that saw his mother charged with assault.
“I wouldn’t say I was scared (about the NRL probe), but I wasn’t sure how to handle myself with the integrity unit,” he said.
“I understand they have a role to play in the game. They were doing their job, and with all the bad headlines that’s been happening in the NRL, I can’t blame them for wanting to ask questions of me.
“I’ve never been in a position like that. I handled it the wrong way. It certainly wasn’t professional and in future I would do things differently with the NRL.”
Haas, who turns 20 in December, says his recent entry to the NRL as a teenager should not mitigate his behaviour.
“People might say I’m a young kid, but you know what, I’m not going to use that as an excuse,” he said.
“I hear other people say that and it’s a cop out.
“You don’t expect to go through this stuff in the media at such a young age, but I still should know better.
“When everything happened with the integrity unit, I spoke to the Broncos and they weren’t happy with me, but I had to cop their punishment and accept I’d stuffed up.
“If you are a man in professional sport and you want the success and the money that comes with it, you can’t whinge about being disciplined.
“I just feel relief now that I’m back playing. Everything has settled down, the storm is behind me and I can look ahead to playing good football for the Broncos.”
A driving force for Haas is his older brother Chase, and their special bond forged through tragedy.
Haas’ return to Canberra soil will carry some painful scar tissue. It was in the nation’s capital that the Haas family suffered a terrible car accident almost 20 years ago when their vehicle smashed into a tree.
Haas was in his mother’s womb at the time. The force of the collision snapped the spinal cord of Chase, who was strapped into a toddler seat.
Rendered a quadriplegic, Chase is a major reason why Haas insists he will not fail in the sport.
“If it wasn’t for Chase, I wouldn’t be working as hard as I am,” said Haas, who despite being Brisbane’s biggest player is one of their fittest.
“I know how much Chase and my family love watching me play and that’s why I will learn from what I’ve been through lately.
“The hardest thing for me is the guilt you feel. I can walk and run and my brother can’t do what he wishes he could do.
“As a family, that’s been our big challenge (dealing with disability).
“I get upset sometimes when I see Chase go some tough things, but the one thing Mum and Dad have always said it we treat Chase normally. We joke with him. We don’t make him feel left out.
“No matter what happens, we love each other the same because we are family.”
It was their shared experience that bonded Haas and his former coach at the Broncos, Wayne Bennett, who has two disabled children.
When Bennett was sacked by the Broncos in December, it fuelled speculation Haas would follow him to Souths, but the hulking rookie said he would honour his mega Brisbane deal, which expires at the end of 2024.
“I’ve never thought about going to Souths with Wayne,” he said.
“I’ve just signed a contract and I want to honour that. I want to respect ‘Whitey’ (Brisbane CEO Paul White) and the Broncos.
“It was sad to see Wayne leave but Anthony Seibold is a good coach and I’m enjoying being coached by him.
“When the times comes to being off-contract, I will sit down with my agent Chris Orr and weigh up my options, but that’s a long way away.
“Right now, I’m happy. The Broncos have expectations of their players and I’m on board with that - I need to get some respect back first.”
Troubled Broncos star checks into rehab
Brisbane Broncos star Ezra Mam has reportedly checked into rehab in a bid to save his NRL career after a car crash.
Broncos star Ezra Mam enters rehab
Brisbane Broncos star Ezra Mam is undergoing immediate professional treatment in the wake of his head-on car accident which has left his $4 million NRL contract in jeopardy.