Payne Haas on Suncorp Stadium Origin boos: ‘They’ll hate me now but they’ll love us on Sunday’

Payne Haas was expecting boos to come from the Suncorp Stadium crowd on Wednesday night and he’s OK with that because he knows the Brisbane faithful will get behind him as soon as he’s back in club land.

PAYNE Haas was expecting boos to come from the Suncorp Stadium crowd on Wednesday night and he’s OK with that because he knows the Brisbane faithful will get behind him as soon as he’s back in club land.

The Broncos teen sensation made a solid debut for NSW in the State of Origin series-opener during the week, playing 39 minutes straight in an 18-14 loss.

When he was announced as entering the field, replacing Paul Vaughan in the 22nd minute, he was met with a chorus of boos from the crowd he usually calls home.

“They’ll hate me now but they’ll love us on Sunday,” Haas smiled, referring to the Broncos’ home match against the Titans tomorrow.

Ben Hunt bounces off Payne Haas during Game One of the 2019 Origin series between Queensland and NSW at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane. Picture: Adam Head

The front-rower was “gutted” by the defeat but on a personal level felt like he handled the occasion sufficiently.

“I didn’t feel like it was out of my league,” he said.

“I felt like I was going all right and obviously I will learn more and be ready for next time.”

Haas was forced to defy increased attention from the Maroons defence, who made a particular effort to swamp his every hit-up.

“They had tremendous line speed the whole game,” he noted.

Payne Haas in Origin camp. Picture: AAP Image

“If we could find a pass there it would be a different story but that’s something we’ll reassess and we’ll be better for it.”

For a kid just 10 games into his NRL career, the Keebra Park product said his hard work behind the scenes had driven his self-belief.

“It gives you confidence when you know you have trained hard and put in the work. I just can’t wait for Game Two now,” said Haas, who identified his ability to push through the pain barrier as allowing him to play big minutes.