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Broncos and Origin star held 'secret talks' with Rugby Australia over two years
By Kim Ekin
Rugby league is dealing with revelations that Origin star and Broncos prop Payne Haas has been holding talks with Rugby Australia for over two years about a code switch.
The news comes in the wake of the Suaalii blockbuster deal which will see the Roosters star switch codes in 2025 ahead of the British & Irish Lions series.
Haas is a former junior rugby union No 8 who is currently the Brisbane Broncos highest paid player, but a deal to switch codes back to rugby could net him more than his current deal of roughly $850k a season.
Rugby Australia boss Hamish McLennan confirmed his interest in the NSW Origin star in an interview with NewsCorp with the prop coming off contract with the Broncos after 2024.
"Payne could definitely be wearing Wallaby gold," McLennan told The Daily Telegraph.
"We really like Payne. He has a strong rugby pedigree and it’s probably time for him to spread his wings and do something really special.
"The Broncos are great — but playing for the Wallabies against the British Lions would be even better. By playing rugby, Payne can see the world."
Haas is currently negotiating an extension with the Broncos and reports last month suggested they are prepared to make him the best paid player in the club's history with over a million per season, topping a deal made for Anthony Milford a few years ago.
But with Rugby Australia expressing interest the Broncos could be in a code war fight to retain one of their best players.
The 23-year-old weighs in at 118kg and is one of the best ball-carrying props in the game.
Should he become available for the Wallabies, Eddie Jones will have a similar No 8 to England's Billy Vunipola, who was pivotal to England's early success under Jones.
Former Brisbane Bronco Corey Parker admitted that the club may struggle to retain him if they have to fight off interest from rugby union.
"I don’t know what sort of money he would attract in rugby, but would he get more than he could get in the NRL? Maybe," he said.
"If he is a $1 million forward in league, Suaalii went to rugby for $1.6 million, so it’s pretty good coin."
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Latest Comments
Steve Hansen stepped down as ABs coach aged 60, Graham Henry did so at 65, Robbie Deans quit the Wallabies job at 54, and Wayne Smith left the ABs aged 60.
Most of them have had lesser jobs since then, but its only Graham Henry who could really be said to have coached at the top level “well into his 60s”. He’s a bit of an outlier, and that was 14 years ago. Its very possible that that will change, but I’m not seeing much evidence of that!
One factor that might be important is that NBA and the NFL are 1 league sports. Rugby league is pretty much a 2 league sport, and those 2 leagues are so far apart there can’t be much trading between them. Rugby union and especially association football have many more leagues, and so there are more opportunities for younger managers to break through.
Also, the fact that Rugby tends to have less chopping and changing of coaches is an argument against hiring older coaches. Hire a good coach in his 40s and he could stay in the job for 20 years, but realistically how long would Les Kiss be the best coach in Australia for?
Go to commentsI’d probably agree this is a tour too early but Lions do have a rich history of capping bolters and Pollock isnt as far behind as many say. I think you under-estimate his jackle work as he has a great turnover rate at club level and even at England A, he even got one against Wales
Fact is the nature of the game is changing and fast lighter backrows becoming more and more common as ball in play times go up and teams look to play wider. He is faces a challenge to make the initial squad but he is definately part of the conversation
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