Why Blocker loves new Blues man mountain Payne Haas
CRAWLEY FILES: Steve “Blocker” Roach has been particularly impressed with NSW’s giant debutant this week, while Knights coach Nathan Brown shoots down Mitchell Pearce rumours.
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Young front-rowers don’t always win over old front-rowers with such ease.
But big Steve “Blocker” Roach has been particularly impressed with NSW debutant Payne Haas this week.
And it is not just because the former Blues enforcer sees the 19-year-old man-mountain as something of a prototype, a modern mix between the great Arthur Beetson and Glenn Lazarus.
After recently converting to Islam, Haas, all 119kg, has been fasting through the month of Ramadan, not able to eat or even drink water during daylight hours — handily for Haas, Ramadan ends on June 4, the eve of Origin I.
“I used to eat big,” Roach said.
“Not on the day of the game because of nerves. “But Payne doesn’t eat from sun-up until the sun goes down. I would have died. I probably wouldn’t have had the strength to train.”
But Roach has no doubt Haas is ready for Origin. While Roach was known as one of the giants of his era, he used to play at 108kg early in his career — 11kg lighter than Haas.
“People say he has only played 10 NRL games but the thing that stands out for me is that his form demanded selection,” Roach added.
“I was just trying to think who he reminded me of.
“I can see a bit of Lazzo in there, a bit of Beetson. He is massive, but agile.
“And he is very quiet and respectful. He hardly says anything but he has that look, like, ‘if you get in front of me I’m going to run over the top of you’. I love him.
“And the way he looks after himself, he could be a New South Welshman for 10 years or more.”
Roach himself had a quick rise to Origin but not nearly as quick as this young bloke.
“I had played 15 games in reserve grade and then a couple of seasons in first grade before I was even mentioned,” Roach recalled of his 1984 call-up.
“But to be playing in the Origin front-row at 19, wow.”
PEARCE WANTS ANOTHER ORIGIN CRACK
Newcastle coach Nathan Brown is adamant Mitchell Pearce “would love another shot at Origin” after shooting down rumours the Newcastle captain exaggerated a groin injury to block any chance of a NSW recall.
Pearce has now put together five straight Dally M man-of-the-match performances, the best consecutive run since Jarryd Hayne’s memorable charge into the 2009 finals series for Parramatta.
Pearce made his Origin debut as a 19-year-old in 2008, but 11 years on there is no question he is now in career-best form. Regardless, there was never any doubt Nathan Cleary was going to get first crack at NSW halfback again this year.
That led to speculation Pearce did not want to be considered, even after Luke Keary was knocked out of contention.
The story doing the rounds was that Pearce told Brad Fittler as much in the dressing rooms after Newcastle’s big win over the Sydney Roosters.
But Brown said: “That is not the case. Mitchell would love another shot at Origin. But he certainly wouldn’t want a shot when he couldn’t train with the team.
“He has a slight groin problem. It is not horrible but it is one of those ones if we had to play this week, for example, he wouldn’t have trained and he would have got on the field, but it would have had the potential to get worse.”
With Newcastle having the bye this week, Brown said Pearce would be right to go when the Knights tackle South Sydney next Friday night.
“If we would have played on Saturday, he probably would have done a light captain’s run on Friday and had a kick and if he would have pulled up well he would have played,” Brown added.
Brown said Pearce was unlikely to train with the team before Monday.
Asked if he believed Pearce was now in career-best form, Brown explained: “I do believe him coming to us last year helped him a lot.
“I think we would all agree our roster has a fair bit more firepower this year. But last year I think it would have been the first time in Mitch’s first-grade career he had to play off the backfoot.
“He had to adapt his game last year in different situations that he was not used to, so I feel that helped him become a much better player.”
BENNETT ALL ACTION AS EELS DITHER
Wayne Bennett was an easy target last year. Not so much now with South Sydney leading the competition.
But back when the seven-time premiership-winning coach was being pushed out the door at Brisbane, his name came up as a potential Parramatta coach, at about the same time Penrith knocked back Bennett for Ivan Cleary.
Despite the Eels closing in on a wooden spoon, newly appointed chairman Sean McElduff was quick to shoot down the speculation. He declared a review into the club’s football operations had determined “Brad Arthur is the right man for the job”.
“And even if he wasn’t,” McElduff added last August, “I don’t believe Bennett is at a stage in his career where he would suit our plans.”
Well, on Friday night Bennett gets his first look at the new Bankwest Stadium when the table-topping but understrength Rabbitohs take on the Eels, the only club, barring the Warriors, of course, who do not have a State of Origin representative.
But Souths were brave enough to take a punt on the 69-year-old and so far it hasn’t worked out too bad for both parties. I still reckon Arthur is the right man to be taking the Eels forward but I couldn’t be so confident in those making decisions above him.
While Bennett wasted little time bringing in James Roberts as Greg Inglis’s long-term replacement, knowing the troubled centre could be the
X-factor to help win a premiership, the Eels are still sitting on $600,000 of their salary cap for this season.
It’s no secret the Eels have taken the power of recruitment away from Arthur, and they have been chasing a quality prop ever since Bennett refused to release George Burgess earlier in the season.
Given the length of time it took to re-sign Arthur and captain Clint Gutherson, it’s no wonder the process continues to drag out.
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