PAYNE A BRONCOS CONCERN
Haas injury sparks fears
Payne Haas could face an extended stint on the sidelines, with Brisbane’s superstar prop to see specialists on a niggling knee injury that has ruled him out of Thursday night’s grandfinal rematch against Penrith.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters says Haas could be sidelined for longer than one week as Brisbane’s No.1 prop prepares to undergo fresh scans in a potentially worrying sign for last year’s grand finalists.
Walters was confident of Haas facing the Panthers but the NSW Origin enforcer failed to take part in the captains’ run on Wednesday and will join Adam Reynolds (knee) in the casualty ward for the round 3 blockbuster at BlueBet Stadium.
The Broncos face a torrid assignment against the premiers without their two most important players, and the news could get worse if scans are not favourable for Haas.
Haas has carried the knee ailment for several weeks and Walters said he would consult Broncos medicos to determine if Brisbane’s $1m man will be available for their round 4 derby against the Cowboys next week. Asked whether Haas faced a longer stretch on the sidelines, Walters said: “He could be, but we will be relying on the medical advice.
“I honestly believed he would be playing (against Penrith), but we don’t want to take that risk with him this early in the season so we will get him properly checked out and go from there.
“He will see some specialists and speak with our own doctor
Matt Hislop on the process of getting him back to play.
“He still has some problems with his knee so we will get the doctor to look at it and see how we go. It’s a knee injury of some sort, that’s as far as I go with it, and then the doctors will explain to me a bit later on the technicalities of it all.
“I don’t believe it’s anything that will keep him out of the game for a long time, but I’m not a medical expert.”
Just 24 hours earlier, Walters was confident of Haas playing, but Brisbane’s fivetime Paul Morgan medallist trained alone at the captain’s run, restricted to light duties with a Broncos physio.
The loss of Haas for an extended period would be a crushing blow for the Broncos, who have already lost champion halfback Reynolds for the Panthers clash.
Haas sets the standard for Brisbane’s pack – the 117kg enforcer charged for 4315m last season at a brilliant average of 187m a game.
“No one likes missing games and Payne is very competitive,” Walters said. “He feels he is letting the team down by not playing but he’s not, we will get his knee looked at properly and see what the issue is. He didn’t feel 100 per cent (at the captain’s run). We always have our players’ welfare first and foremost. He is a key player for us so we will play him when he is fit and ready to go.”
In the absence of Haas, Roosters recruit Fletcher Baker will make his starting debut for his new club alongside Corey Jensen, while rookie prop Xavier Willison will come onto the bench.
Holding on to every star remains a battle for Penrith, and coach Ivan Cleary concedes the club may not be able to keep strike centre Taylan May as rivals circle the young gun.
The price of achieving the ultimate success means losing players, which is nothing new to the Panthers, who have won three straight NRL premierships to be the benchmark team of the competition.
Those victories also allow a different perspective on reviewing the decider that Cleary and the Panthers, unlike beaten coach Kevin Walters and his Broncos
Jock Madden has been patiently working in the background, waiting for his opportunity – and they don’t come much bigger than his one on Thursday night.
Madden, who made five appearances for the Broncos in 2023, will play halfback in the grand-final rematch as he fills in for the injured Adam Reynolds.
And while it may seem like big boots to fill for the relatively inexperienced playmaker, teammate Billy Walters is confident Madden, 24, is ready for this moment.
In fact, from the way Madden has been speaking about biding his time in reserve grade, Walters knows the former Tiger was “going to take the opportunity”.
Walters compared the way Madden has approached his time in the NRL to that of legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady, who had plenty of experience early in his career as a back-up before going on to write his name in the record books.
“He is very professional,” Walters said on Wednesday.
“We went and listened to Tom Brady speak and he reminded me a lot of Tom Brady.
“He’s got that mentality of it’s not a matter of if he’s going to get his chance, it’s when he’s going to get his chance. He is doing all the things behind the scenes to be ready and I know he’s going to take the opportunity.”
Reynolds was diagnosed with a strained medial collateral ligament and will be joined by Payne Haas (knee) on the sidelines, with Xavier Willison drafted into the starting side.
While the loss of Reynolds theoretically puts more pressure on five-eighth Ezra Mam, Walters is confident Madden is a seamless fit to take on more responsibility immediately.
“He is very similar to ‘Reyno’,” Walters said. “He’s a game manager. He’s got a good kicking game and running game so it’ll be very similar.
“He is a really humble kid and not kicking stones that he is not playing NRL (regularly) yet. He’s taken the opportunity to learn off Reyno as much as he can.
“He is a great little player and he’s definitely the future of our club.” players, have looked at this week. But Cleary, who has said previously that losing the 2020 grand final to Melbourne helped fuel his club’s stunning run, noted there was a key reason that he and his coaching staff had taken a closer look at last year’s game.
“We refer to the grand final through our preview for the game just because it’s the last we played them,” he said on Wednesday.
May, 22, is the highestprofile Panther off contract at the end of this year.
Penrith is keen to keep the Samoa international and has begun formal talks about a new deal, but other clubs could, as they did with star playmaker Jarome Luai, throw more money in his direction.
“I don’t know (if he’ll stay),” Cleary said.
“I don’t know (if I’m confident). We would love Taylan to stay.
“He knows that.”