NRL 2023: Wests Tigers reveal $1 million play for Broncos free agent Payne Haas
With the Wests Tigers’ recruitment strategies in the spotlight, chairman Lee Hagipantelis expects future coach Benji Marshall to have a crack at a million-dollar free agent.
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Brisbane are facing a big-money bidding war to retain Payne Haas with Wests Tigers bosses declaring they have the funds to launch a $1 million-plus poaching raid on the Broncos superstar.
Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis said Haas would be an “incredible addition” to their roster as coach-in-waiting Benji Marshall begins a recruitment drive to rebuild the embattled joint-venture club.
Haas’ management dropped a bombshell on the Broncos last week by revealing plans for the NSW Origin enforcer to test his value on the open market from November 1.
That has raised fears Haas, who returns from injury in Friday night’s clash against Souths at Sunshine Coast Stadium, could quit the Broncos when his current deal expires at the end of next year.
Marshall is acutely aware of Haas’ talents, with the former Kiwi Test skipper spending a season at the Broncos under Wayne Bennett in 2017 when the teenage prop was coming through Brisbane’s ranks and on the verge of his NRL debut.
Haas’ manager Ahmad Merhi says all 16 NRL rivals have lodged preliminary interest and Hagipantelis says if Marshall is keen, the Tigers have the salary-cap war chest to blow Brisbane out of the water.
“We have cap space and we have the money for a player of Payne Haas’ calibre,” Hagipantelis said.
“His name would be floated at our list-management committee meetings, it would have to be.
“It would be naive to think that a player of the calibre of Payne Haas would not be the subject of consideration internally.
“I don’t partake in discussions at that level, so I can’t comment affirmatively, but I would be very surprised if Payne Haas’ name is not being raised internally, as you would expect it to be.
“Payne would be an incredible addition to any roster, but whether Benji wants another middle (forward), that’s for him and Tim Sheens (head coach) to ultimately determine moving forward.”
The Broncos have discussed a three-year, $1 million-a-season extension for Haas until the end of 2027.
Sydney rivals the Bulldogs, Dragons and Wests Tigers have the funds to compete with the Broncos, but Hagipantelis concedes it will be difficult to prise Brisbane’s No.1 prop out of Red Hill.
“In my experience, generally when big-name players test the market, they tend to stay where they are,” he said.
“Precedent tells us that the vast majority of these marquee players stay loyal.
“Look at Cameron Munster, Mitchell Moses, Shaun Johnson and Kalyn Ponga.
“It’s not often you see high-profile, marquee players move from club to club, but they are perfectly entitled to test their worth on the open market.
“Payne Haas is a wonderful player, but the final decision will rest with Tim and Benji.”
Tigers prop Stefano Utoikamanu made his NSW Origin debut alongside Haas last month and said he would relish being mentored by the NRL’s No.1 prop.
“Payne is a beast, he’s probably the best prop in the game with his motor and workrate,” Utoikamanu told Sydney media before Origin II.
“He’s a monster and he’s the prop in the game I want to be like.
“He is a big guy who leads by action and doesn’t say too much at training but on the field he runs so hard, and that’s what I want to build my game around.”
Haas’ agent Merhi confirmed there is no shortage of interest for Brisbane’s four-time Paul Morgan Medallist.
“We’ve had interest from all 16 clubs,” he said last week.
“He hasn’t had the chance to test his value, so we want to make sure his deal is fair on the open market and if it is, he will never complain in the future.
“We can’t put a value on him, he is worth what any club will pay for him.
“We just want transparency on his true value and Payne employs me, so he will make the final decision.”
BENJ REVEALS VISION TO WESTS TIGERS BOARD
- Michael Carayannis, Brent Read
Wests Tigers coach-in-waiting Benji Marshall presented his vision to the club’s board on Monday night alongside coach Tim Sheens just hours after the club was engulfed in controversy.
It comes as Wests Tigers boss Lee Hagipantelis reinforced his belief that Marshall was well equipped to ensure the Tigers have long-term success.
On the same day club officials vowed Marshall and head of recruitment Scott Fulton would be able to work together despite the growing angst between the two parties, it was Marshall who fronted the club’s top brass on Monday to outline his vision for the club.
Sheens is a regular at the monthly board meetings where he runs through the team’s on-field performances, but it was Marshall who took a leading role in detailing his plans for the future this time around.
Hagipantelis refused to confirm what Marshall presented to the board but said it was hard to not be excited by his plans for the future.
“Benji’s skill is in identifying strengths and weaknesses in the club especially in our playing roster and addressing those challenges,” Hagipantelis said.
“His football IQ continues to impress and he has exceeded all our expectations in terms of his development as a future head coach.
“He has a vision for the club. I could not have been more impressed with his commitment and his passion and his drive to turn this club around.
“I have absolutely no doubt that we have in our midst our long-term NRL head coach.”
It is understood Marshall‘s address included the strengths and weaknesses of the current squad.
The Tigers are likely to forge ahead with plans to entice Super League based halves Brodie Croft and Aidan Sezer to the club next year. The Tigers halves situation is problematic given Luke Brooks’ decision to join Manly and Adam Doueihi not being available until at best the midway point of next year.
Meanwhile, Sheens’ frustration with his team’s performances has only been matched by his angst with some officiating calls against his team. Sheens was fuming following the bunker’s intervention to deny his side a try in the opening exchanges of last Friday’s loss to Newcastle.
Jahream Bula was ruled to have knocked on in the lead-up to a try for Tommy Talau.
NRL’s head of football Graham Annesley agreed with Sheens but was not as unequivocal.
“There were arguments in the commentary box if it was a knock on,” Annesley said. “They couldn’t agree between them. That’s not a criticism of them. The cameras we are dealing with this are mostly behind the play.
“It’s a Judgement call by the bunker. If you asked me personally, I think it was a knock back. But I’m saying that as a definitive answer to that decision. I can’t. It’s a matter of conjecture and opinion. It’s not clear enough to me that it’s definitive one way or another.”
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