Broncos brawl video: Payne Haas and Albert Kelly in alleged drunken fist fight

The Broncos have been rocked by another off-field scandal with players caught on camera in an alcohol-fuelled fight. We reveal what sparked the aggressive clash. WATCH THE VIDEO

The Broncos have been rocked by another off-field scandal with club bosses investigating an alleged drunken fight between Brisbane five-eighth Albert Kelly and star prop Payne Haas.

News Corp can reveal Brisbane bosses are looking into an alcohol-fuelled altercation between Haas and Kelly in the latest black eye for the club following the Broncos’ disappointing 20-6 loss to the Warriors on Saturday night.

The Broncos confirmed on Sunday night they have reported the matter to the NRL integrity unit.

It is the second drunken bust-up to engulf the club in six months after Broncos prop Tom Flegler punched Jordan Riki at their Mad Monday booze-up last year, leaving Riki requiring stitches for a bloodied lip.

Broncos players Payne Haas and Albert Kelly in an altercation.

News Corp has obtained video footage of the explosive clash between Haas and Kelly. The fight occurred after Brisbane’s gutsy 16-10 victory over the Bulldogs in round two in Sydney on Sunday, March 20.

In the 13-second video, it appears the clash was sparked by Kelly stepping on Haas’ foot, with the five-eighth saying: “Why would I step on your shoes?”

Haas, wearing a white baseball cap and jumper, has his left arm extended, grabbing Kelly by the throat, and is heard to say, ‘You f***ing c***’, before making contact with Kelly’s face with his left fist.

After reeling from the blow, Kelly walks back towards Haas and repeats himself, saying, ‘Hey, I’m not going to step on your shoes’, prompting a furious Haas to shove the much-smaller playmaker in the face, this time with his right hand.

The Broncos have seen footage of the altercation and have referred the matter to the NRL integrity unit.

Broncos players Payne Haas and Albert Kelly in an altercation.

Payne Haas v Albert Kelly.

The incident could be costly for Haas — Brisbane’s No.1 player and three-time Paul Morgan Medallist — who has twice fallen foul of the NRL integrity unit in the past three years.

In February 2019, Haas was suspended for four matches and fined $20,000 by the Broncos after he failed to co-operate fully with the NRL integrity unit regarding an investigation into off-field incidents involving family members.

Last year, the NSW Origin enforcer was charged with offensive language and intimidating police at Tweed Heads. Haas was handed a two-year good behaviour bond over the incident, prompting a $50,000 fine from the NRL and a three-match suspension.

One of the code’s leading front-rowers, Haas became a Muslim in 2019 with the support of his mentor, former Roosters star and All Blacks legend Sonny Bill Williams. In accordance with Islamic faith, alcohol is forbidden.

Payne Haas of the Broncos (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

The boozy bust-up will raise issues around team morale at the Broncos, especially after Flegler and Riki were embroiled in their Mad Monday clash last September.

In that incident, Flegler punched Riki, splitting his lip, ironically coming to the defence of Kelly after the five-eighth was being taunted by Riki.

Following the Riki-Flegler punch up last September, Broncos chief executive Dave Donaghy read the riot act to Brisbane players, saying he would not tolerate poor off-field behaviour.

“If we are fair dinkum about being a world-class sporting organisation, we can’t just talk the talk, we need to walk the walk and that’s everyone,” Donaghy said at the time.

“It (improving the individual) is something I am passionate about and it will be an enormous focus for us moving forward.”

Donaghy also added the Broncos would beef-up their support systems to ensure the Broncos are not the bad boys of the NRL.

“We will keep putting good people in place,” he said.

“We will be investing in support services available for players.

“We have committed to that and we think that is an area we can address.

Albert Kelly suffered an injury over the weekend (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

“Adam Walsh (Broncos welfare chief) is very good at what he does and he has spoken to us about the need to increase resourcing and investment to support cultural change, so that we develop not just good footballers, but wonderful people.

“We have a young group and they will benefit from leaders like Adam Reynolds, Kurt Capewell and Ryan James to drive standards on and off the field. That will help us.

“Leadership in rugby league is a really underestimated part of a successful program. While guys like Reynolds, Capewell and James will be wonderful additions to the program, this is a chance for the younger players in our group to become emerging leaders as well.

“We will be looking at that part of our program to improve performances on and off the field.”

The Broncos started the 2022 premiership with consecutive wins over Souths and the Bulldogs, but have failed to win since the Haas-Kelly drama, suffering dismal losses to the Cowboys (38-12) and Warriors (20-6) in the past fortnight.

Broncos coach Kevin Walters will be under pressure to ensure the Haas-Kelly clash does not destabilise his side as they prepare for daunting clashes against the Roosters (home) and premiers Penrith (away) over the next two weeks.

Originally published as Broncos brawl video: Payne Haas and Albert Kelly in alleged drunken fist fight