Payne Haas got his first glimpse of life under Michael Maguire in Blues camp and it flicked a switch in him. Now the star forward is ready, as Madge brings a NSW-style reality check to Brisbane.
Haas had just played a starring role in New South Wales’ epic series victory in July. It was the superstar Brisbane prop’s first glimpse of life under Michael Maguire, who had coached NSW to Origin glory in his maiden campaign in charge of the Blues.
Haas returned to Red Hill. He walked into a meeting with Brisbane’s senior leadership group comprising skipper Adam Reynolds, Kotoni Staggs and Pat Carrigan, his Queensland Origin rival.
The party had to end at the Broncos. Haas had a taste of Maguire’s world. A realm of ultra-professionalism. No puerile skylarking at training. No lazy slackers. Go hard or go home.
Payne Haas got his first taste of life under Michael Maguire in NSW Origin camp, and it flicked a switch in him. Picture: Rohan Kelly Maguire was all about work ethic, sacrifice and winning and in his team-first environment, winners are professionals. Haas watched his NSW teammates like Dylan Edwards, Isaah Yeo, Brian To’o, Jarome Luai and Liam Martin, the Penrith big guns who had won a hat-trick of premierships.
The penny dropped. Their success was no fluke. When the switch was flicked, they were ruthless pros who got down to business. Little did he know it, but in three months’ time, Haas would be reunited with Maguire at the Broncos following the demise of coach Kevin Walters after Brisbane’s 12th-placed free fall this year. A NSW-style reality check is coming to Red Hill.
HOME TRUTHS
In the wake of NSW’s historic victory in Origin III, Haas came back to Brisbane. He spoke from the heart at a players’ meeting. He delivered some home truths about the state of the Broncos and why Brisbane needed a more professional edge if they were going to break the club’s 18-year title drought.
The Broncos were too loose. Brisbane would win a round 20 game and have 300 hangers-on in the Suncorp dressing shed drinking XXXX like the Broncos had won a grand final. “I saw a few things that I won’t go into too much, but we needed to work harder,” Haas said. “I was watching some of the other boys in the NSW team. The way they did things … I felt like we could be doing things better at the Broncos. “Being in those rep camps, you learn from the best. You take away certain things and you talk about what these guys in other teams are doing and I feel we can implement it at the Broncos. “I took away a lot from what ‘Madge’ said and what he stands for. “That Origin camp made me think about how I should approach being in this team.”
THE NEW ERA
It’s no surprise Maguire has formed a special bond with Haas. Maguire loves competitors and no-one at the Broncos competes harder than Haas.
The five-time Paul Morgan Medallist is Brisbane’s biggest player at 118kg yet Haas is one of their fittest. In his fifth NRL game as an 18-year-old, Haas punched out a full 80 minutes against Canberra … in the front-row. In the first week of Brisbane’s pre-season, Maguire had players vomiting in bins and almost cracking in the scorching Brisbane heat. The competitive beast in Haas loved every second of it.
“Madge will bring a hard edge, he’ll expect a lot from us,” Haas said of his former NSW mentor. “It was a tough session last Monday, but with Madge, as long as you’re giving it a red-hot crack, that’s all he will ask for. “That’s all we need from everyone this season. Giving it your best every day and you know if you do that, you’re surely going to get better.”
FAMILY TIES
Maguire is seen as a ruthless taskmaster but Haas learnt from his time in NSW camp that the premiership coach has light and shade in his approach. “Yes, Madge is really big on competing all the time,” he said. “He can be intense, but to be honest, I reckon that’s what we need at the Broncos.
“He loves winning, but what I also really admired was his love for family. Madge is really big on connection and his attitude is that the most connected team always comes out on top. “He loved people bringing their family in. His message was, ‘Our families are part of this ride as well, it’s not just us’, and he was really big on that family aspect in Origin. “I admired that about Madge and I think the boys at the Broncos will enjoy what he brings. “I just can’t wait to get stuck in day in, day out. I really want to go after it.”
KEV-OLUTION
Haas will always appreciate Walters’ role in his personal journey. It must be remembered the Broncos were four minutes away from winning a premiership in the 2023 decider under Walters. When Haas went through the pain of his mum Joan being remanded in prison following a fatal car crash and his dad Gregor being arrested in May over drug-trafficking in Indonesia, Walters had his back. Haas says he was genuinely upset by Walters’ sacking.
“I felt a bit blindsided by all of it,” he said. “It was hard. I’ve got lots of love for ‘Kevvie’ and I will never forget the times he was there for me. I signed to stay at the Broncos (in August 2023) because I wanted to be part of what Kevvie was building.
“Unfortunately, guys like me and Patty (Carrigan) have gone through about three coaches now, so as players you have to keep moving forward. But I wish Kevvie well and he will always be a club legend. I’d like to think he knows I gave my all for him.”
THE HANGOVER
There is a view Brisbane suffered a hangover from their fairytale surge to last year’s NRL grand final. While a shocking injury toll was an undoubted factor, Haas wonders if there were psychological scars. Like many Broncos, he finds it tough to relive the moment Nathan Cleary speared through in the 76th minute to steal a 26-24 victory.
“Losing like that … yeah it hurt,” he said. “That was a really tough memory and if we’re in that position again, if we’re in a grand final again, I hope we’ll lean back on that time and really learn from that experience. It’s behind us now.” Asked what went wrong in 2024, Haas said: “It’s hard to answer. I was pretty confident heading into the year, but we had so many injuries and you lose momentum. Sometimes things ain’t meant to be. Every club has setbacks, but it’s important we learn from this and bounce back next year.”
THE FINAL FRONTIER
Haas has won all sorts of gongs. At 24, he has already been Brisbane’s best-and-fairest five times. He has been Dally M prop of the year on four occasions, the NRL’s rookie of the year in 2019 and won three Origin series for NSW. Haas has worn the green-and-gold of Australia. But there is one empty box he has yet to tick _ winning an NRL premiership. That’s his Everest. Haas is desperate to deliver Brisbane’s first title since 2006.
“That’s the ultimate goal for me,” he said. “Every professional athlete in any sport wants to win a comp. “I couldn’t see myself ever leaving the Broncos without winning a premiership for myself, my teammates and the club. “Playing Origin and for Australia, all that stuff is cool, but nothing would beat winning a comp for the Broncos. “I love this club so much. I love the boys at the club. You see the Penrith guys do it and I’ll be working my backside off this year to make sure we get the ultimate prize.”
RUGBY RAID
Last year, Haas received a massive $2 million offer to play rugby in France. Brisbane’s $1 million prop also fielded interest from Rugby Australia to represent the Wallabies, but Haas is adamant he has unfinished business at the Broncos.
“They weren’t really a threat to be honest,” he said. “I know there was a lot of talk when I was off-contract. You know me, I don’t really like the limelight and I don’t get involved in all the media talk. I leave all that stuff to my agent to sort out. “I played rugby when I was younger. In this game, you never know what’s around the corner, but right now I’m happy at the Broncos and I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
THE FUTURE
Such is his regard for Haas, Maguire has lauded the prop’s leadership qualities. The Blues enforcer hasn’t ruled out captaincy aspirations, but says his primary focus is spearheading an immediate fightback. “It would be an honour to captain this club one day,” he said. “I’d do anything that is asked of me but right now I’m just focused on playing footy and playing my role. We’ve got a great leadership group and I’m proud to be part of that. We all need to be leaders every day in our own way, it’s about everyone stepping up.”
Haas is adamant Brisbane must play finals in 2025. “We’ve got a roster to make the finals, as a club we should make finals every year,” he said. “We’ll be shooting for a top-four spot and it’s important we bounce back quickly next year. “I know we have the talent to compete with the best teams, but it’s on us. “We’ve got to do the hard work first … and I’m prepared to do it.”
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