State of Origin: NSW Blues must unlock Payne Haas’ Brisbane Broncos form to save series
Payne Haas has always been a handful at club level but these are the stats that show how the Maroons have blunted NSW’s biggest weapon.
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NSW have rung the changes in the pursuit of a series-saving win in Melbourne but it is a familiar and imposing face that will dictate whether the Blues send State of Origin to a decider.
Payne Haas had a decent game at Accor Stadium as the series opened with defeat for an undermanned NSW a fortnight ago. Haas was solid – no more, no less.
It has become a familiar refrain at Origin level. Haas is never poor and rarely brilliant. He is a leviathan in clubland but has battled to own Origin.
Statistics don’t always paint an accurate picture, but they are worth a gander where Haas is concerned.
The Brisbane behemoth is about to play his 13th Origin game and he remarkably is yet to make a line break.
He busts nearly four tackles a game for his club but barely averages one a game against Queensland where the Maroons have placed a vice-like grip on Haas.
Haas averages more than 60 minutes a game for the Broncos and less than 50 for the Blues.
He actually gets through more tackles for every minute he plays in Origin and runs for more metres – he is also yet to commit an error – but he doesn’t have the same impact and NSW need to find a way to unlock him at the MCG if they are to level the series.
Others will clearly need to play their part as well. Mitchell Moses and Latrell Mitchell have largely dominated the Origin news cycle given the hoopla that has surrounded their comebacks and they will be key figures in the Blues’ quest to continue their domination of the MCG, where they have won four of the five Origin games played at the iconic venue.
But Haas will be every bit important, if not more. Moses and Mitchell can’t do what they do unless the Blues own the middle of the field and that is Haas’ domain.
The last time Origin was played at the MCG was six years ago – the same year the Brisbane powerhouse made his NRL debut.
Since then, Haas has become one of the most dominant props in the game thanks to his rare combination of strength and stamina.
He has been a handful at club level but a conundrum for Blues coaches in Origin, where they have struggled to unlock the secret to freeing him from the shackles.
The challenge now lays at the feet of Michael Maguire. The Blues were expected to barge down the front door in Origin I with Haas as their centrepiece. A powerful forward pack was tipped to take the fight to Queensland in the middle of the field and Haas was the man at the heart of those plans.
Those plans went out the window when Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii was given his marching orders for a high shot on Reece Walsh. The Blues were clinging on from the seventh minute and Haas was always going to struggle on a night when NSW were a man short and fighting for their life.
It will be a different story in Melbourne as the Blues attempt to square the series. NSW players have made it very clear from the start of camp that they plan once again bring the fire to Origin – the sending off of Suaalii and the ironing out of Reece Walsh has done little to tone down the aggression.
Haas, however, will be charged with chewing up the metres in a side that has a phalanx of back rowers and a shortage of big men. He came into the Origin series under immense personal pressure given his father was arrested in the Philippines and was facing extradition to Indonesia to face drug trafficking charges.
He never considered turning his back on the sky blue jersey. It meant too much to him. No doubt, he needed the distraction.
given the tumult in his personal life.
Now it is his time to return the favour. NSW needs him more than ever.
Originally published as State of Origin: NSW Blues must unlock Payne Haas’ Brisbane Broncos form to save series
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