Brisbane Broncos star Payne Haas remains resilient and focused despite off-field pressures

Payne Haas and Shane Warne have one common link — a stunning ability to leave outside pressures behind and shine on a sporting field, writes ROBERT CRADDOCK.

Brisbane Broncos star Payne Haas. Picture: Getty Images

Payne Haas and the late, great Shane Warne don’t normally belong in the same sentence but there’s one rare skill that links them together.

It is-was that remarkable ability to somehow hang life’s supreme challenges on a dressing room peg and go out and be the same four-square competitor day after day, season after season, as if nothing was happening.

When Warne joined the Australian team in 2005 for the Ashes he had just split up with his wife Simone.

He burst into tears after he left his kids at the airport, told coach Terry Jenner he was a “mess’’ then declared “if I take more than 15 wickets this series it will be a miracle.’’

He took 40. The next best for either side was Andrew Flintoff with 24.

Warne later explained that far from being intimidated by playing under stress his cricketing life was actually a sanctuary away from a turbulent world around it and the one place he felt genuine peace.

Shane Warne starred during the 2005 Ashes in England despite off-field struggles. Picture: Getty Images

Broncos prop Haas could understand this sentiment after being challenged by several more confronting issues with his family in recent times.

Far from being distracted, it is almost as if they have made him more resilient and focused.

His mother Joan Taufua has been in jail for around six months, charged with manslaughter for the deaths of three people in a car accident in the Gold Coast hinterland.

And on the weekend his brother Zeda was taken to hospital in a critical condition after a suspected drug overdose in an incident which included the death of another man suspected to have died by an overdose.

The news was breaking just as the Broncos were taking the field for their Sunday training session yet Haas’ showed no sign of being distracted.

Maybe he did not know. Or maybe he was simply wearing the mental suit of armour he has worn over the past six months.

Payne Haas shows no signs of being distracted. Picture Lachie Millard

Earlier this season, has told Fairfax news “my off-field stuff has always been kept totally separate from my on-field responsibilities … I’ve been raised to keep that stuff away from the boys, come into work with a smile, and focus on what you need to do that day.’’

Indeed. His form and consistency has not wavered a square centimetre despite the turmoil engulfing his family to the point where this season he is favoured to become the first prop to win the Dally M Medal.

Payne Haas is well in the frame to win the Dally M Medal. Picture: NRL Photos

It’s anyone guess who is going to win the first State of Origin match in Adelaide on May 31 but the safest bet in the game is that Haas will make 150-plus running metres like he does every week for the Broncos.

He doesn’t need luck to shine. He is not fancy or funky. There are no trick plays or rabbits in hats. He just catches a ball and runs, occasionally jinks, pivots of passes, and it’s a bit like watching a four-wheel drive surge along a muddy road in the way he just grinds along.

Broncos teammate Kotoni Staggs said on Monday: “Payne has a lot of good support here. It is not for me to talk about what his problems are. He comes to training and does a job and knows he has full support here, His teammates love him and we are here for him.’’

Originally published as Brisbane Broncos star Payne Haas remains resilient and focused despite off-field pressures