No pain if Haas jumps ship
Broncos great says league’s production line will replace gun prop
Broncos great Corey Parker has urged Payne Haas to stay with the Broncos as the fight for his signature went global.
News Corp has revealed that French rugby clubs have offered around $1.8m a season for his services while southern reports claimed interest from America’s iconic NFL.
Parker hopes Haas stays in Brisbane but believes the loss of the game’s best forward would not be a mortal blow to rugby league due to its rich production line of talent.
“I hope Payne stays,’’ Parker said.
“I’ve had a bit to do with Payne in his development at the Broncos and he is playing well there.
“But ultimately, if players want to leave, it doesn‘t concern me. There is always another great player around the corner. Roger Tuivasa-sheck went (to rugby union) then Reece Walsh jumped out of the ground.
“The talent pool of rugby league is incredible, it just continues to grow and grow. If Payne Haas left, while it would be a blow, very quickly someone else would step up.‘’
As well as French rugby union clubs, Haas has been targeted by the Australian Rugby Union, which has already snared teenage prodigy Joseph Suaalii, and Fairfax reported on Sunday Haas’s management had also fielded interest from the NFL in America.
Haas has been on the radar of American football teams since 2019 when several college outfits and the NFL’S Indianapolis Colts expressed interest in him.
Haas’s stunning endurance and athletic ability, as well as his size and skill set, have made him an attractive package to scouts in rival sports.
“Payne would be great in rugby, he is a bit of an anomaly,” Parker said. “He is not your normal rugby league athlete. He is such a gifted athlete, for his size and speed, he is remarkably fit and I have no doubt he would be successful in rugby.
“I don‘t know what position he plays because I don’t know the game well enough but he would certainly have the talent to make it in rugby.
“He is a special talent and he would be an asset for the Wallabies.
“I am sure Payne is happy in league. Apparently he has a rugby union background and I’m sure Payne will be putting a lot of thought into his future.
“If he has that rugby experience in juniors, there would be that temptation to go across.
“The only person who can answer if he wants to go across to rugby is Payne, but I would think if he started out in rugby, he has an appetite for it and maybe he does consider that opportunity.”