Reece Walsh might be the face of the NRL, a player whose skill is hard to ignore and his Hollywood demeanour downright impossible.
But in his teammate Payne Haas, the NRL has its most compelling character and one who will give Brisbane the chance to ascend to the summit of the sport in Sunday’s grand final against Melbourne.
The Bronco’s on-field feats are superhuman, headlined by stamina that allows him to play a full match in the trenches of Australia’s toughest sport with the power to dominate even fresh opponents.
As a teenager, Haas was due to move to Melbourne before a personal call from Wayne Bennett, who instead recruited him to the Broncos. “I’m just grateful that happened because I wouldn’t have been on the journey I am now,” Haas said. “I’m very lucky to be here now.”
Some are calling the 25-year-old the greatest front rower to ever play the game, so his decision in August to switch allegiances from Australia to Samoa to represent his mother’s family is set to heighten the renewed interest in the sport’s international competition.
Off the field, Haas’s remarkable story of overcoming adversity includes him taking on the responsibility to care for his two younger brothers. Haas’s mother is in jail over a car accident that killed three people, and his father was arrested in the Philippines on drug charges last year. Haas’s older brother was a quadriplegic who died in 2020.
The forward’s early career was marked by a series of indiscretions, including pleading guilty to intimidating police in 2021. This week Haas has said he wants his family to live a life away from criminal influence. Yet he is one of several NRL players to spruik the clothing of a brand linked to Sydney’s Alameddine crime family.
Haas has promoted the R4W – or “ready for war” – activewear brand this month, which borrows the name of the Alameddine network’s “Ready 4 War” group, and which used the provocative marketing tagline “11th September, ground zero”. The Bronco wore a T-shirt from R4W’s sibling brand Proper in a photoshoot for the Sydney Morning Herald this week, which catalogued Haas’s difficult upbringing. “I don’t want my kids to grow up in the environment I grew up around,” he said.
As grand final anticipation builds this week, Haas’s endorsement is likely to gain greater attention. The NRL has been informed of the matter and a spokesperson said the governing body “is collecting all relevant information”. The Guardian has sought comment from Brisbane and Haas’s agent.
But the NRL media’s focus on Haas has also been on his impact on the season decider.
At the Broncos’ media day on Monday, Haas was asked to respond to comments from the Storm prop Stefano Utoikamanu, who said some Brisbane players were “stuck up”. Haas’s response was measured. “We know who we are,” he said. “They got this certain image of us down there, so it is what it is. We’ll see what happens.”
Utoikamanu serves as a useful comparison for highlighting Haas’s place within the game. Both are New South Wales Origin players, and both are 25. The Storm player, who moved to Victoria ahead of this season, has emerged in the second half of this year as the best middle forward for the premiership favourites.
But even he admits he is still well behind Haas. This season the Bronco leads all NRL forwards in average running metres per game with 169m, while Utoikamanu ran 110m. Haas averaged 63 minutes per game, almost 20 more than the Storm player. The Brisbane prop has missed fewer tackles and has a greater per-minute contribution, including securing vital metres after initial contact.
The former Bulldogs and Dragons forward James Graham sought to explain on his podcast this week why Haas’s feats were so incredible. “When I knew I was expected to play long minutes, I wasn’t necessarily running in to burst tackles and bust through, you can’t apply yourself like that … usually,” he said.
“If you’re going to knock out 80 minutes, you can’t be fighting for every inch, trying to get post-contact metres. Payne Haas was just eating them up.”
Haas played all 80 minutes of the game against Penrith, and made crucial contributions preventing the Panthers from scoring in the final stages.
Utoikamanu, watching in Melbourne, was impressed. “He’s such a gun player and he played the whole game, like fuck, he’s a machine,” he said. “I don’t think anyone else that big is going to be playing 80 minutes anytime soon. He’s just a one of a kind player.”
Haas said he had spoken to his mother this week, and that she was excited and happy for him. But he also told reporters she was not his only motivation.
“I’ll do it for all my family, not just my mum and dad. I’ve got lots of cousins, aunties, and uncles I’m doing it for, so I can’t wait.”
