NRL world in awe of ‘battering ram’ Payne Haas in Broncos win

Payne Haas took his game to a new level on Friday night, leading experts to make some huge calls about his standing in the sport.

Payne Haas left an indelible stamp on Brisbane’s 26-16 victory over North Queensland on Friday night and is already being talked about among the best props to play the game.

At the age of just 25, the NSW and Australia representative already has a glittering resume.

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But the 194cm, 119kg juggernaut is taking his game to all new heights after a starring role in the Queensland derby at Suncorp Stadium.

The front-rower ran for a team-high 210 metres and capped off his man of the match performance with a barnstorming run through the North Queensland defence for a try that sealed Brisbane’s victory.

“He’s not a man, he’s an animal,” Dan Ginnane said as Haas touched down for the try. “He has been just awesome and that caps it off.”

Greg Alexander added: “You can’t be doing that as a front-rower. You can’t be accelerating through the very little space that there was.

Watch Haas’ try in the video player above

Payne Haas dominated the Cowboys on Friday night. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

“He just rips open the Cowboy defence, what an athlete that man is. What an athlete.

“Some of the great front-rowers in the history of the game deserve their place. But none of them could run like that.

“None of them were athletic like that. He’s got everything.”

On a night when Adam Reynolds moved into third place on the NRL’s all-time scoring list, he played a shadow of a role compared to “battering ram” Haas who brought back memories of All Blacks great Jonah Lomu in his prime.

At full-time, the Fox League panel couldn’t say enough about the barnstorming prop.

The huge prop carried the Broncos at times on Friday night. Picture: NRL Photos

“Well the Broncos triumph in a brilliant Queensland derby, but you have to think it was all summed up with a Herculean run from Payne Haas that had the 45,000 at Suncorp Stadium up on their feet,” gushed Yvonne Sampson.

“Payne Haas, have you ever seen a forward like him in the game before?”

Kevin Walters led the tributes, stating: “He’s amazing isn’t he?

“He keeps delivering for the Broncos and that try that he scored, he looked like an outside back coming onto the ball.”

Some of Haas’ barnstorming runs were reminiscent of Jonah Lomu in his prime. (Photo by Ross Land/Getty Images)

Michael Ennis made the ominous call that we are yet to see Haas’ best.

“Absolutely ridiculous. He’s 120-odd kilos, the athleticism of him, the workrate,” he said.

“What a player. It’s unfair. It’s actually unfair. It reminds me of when I used to play under-9s.

“He’s just the biggest, fastest person on the field. He just bullied the opposition for 80 minutes tonight.

“He’s transformed into that battering ram in recent years. But he’s come out this year and he’s got this steely look about him where he just wants to rip apart and dominate the opposition.

“His game is continuing to grow and evolve.”

The Cowboys had no answers for the dominant prop. Picture: NRL Photos

Fans on social media were just as effusive.

An X account called 10 In The Bin tweeted simply: “Payne Haas will go down as the greatest prop of all time.”

Another fan wrote: “Payne Haas. A man amongst boys.”

A third stated: “It was a battle of the forwards and Payne Haas exists. Game over.”

A fourth declared: “Payne Haas is a monster.”

Another suggested: “Payne Haas could kick a field goal to win Origin and I wouldn’t be surprised. Genetic Freak.”

The victory was the Broncos’ second of the season under Michael Maguire ahead of their clash with the Dolphins next Friday night.

Originally published as NRL world in awe of ‘battering ram’ Payne Haas in Broncos win