Politis rules out Roosters signing Haas
ROOSTERS supremo Nick Politis has declared he will not sign Payne Haas and has blasted speculation the club is using the influence of Sonny Bill Williams in a bid to lure the Broncos superstar prop to Bondi.
On the eve of the Roosters’ clash against the Warriors on Sunday, Politis has broken a six-month silence on the Haas affair to set the record straight amid rumours the Chooks are plotting a big-money raid on the Broncos.
Widely regarded as the NRL’s No.1 prop, the player has been consistently linked with the Roosters as a possible successor to veteran front-row enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, who is off-contract at the end of next season.
While he has respect for Haas’ ability, Politis insists he is not targeting the 22-year-old in a boost to the Broncos’ hopes of retaining the threetime Paul Morgan medallist.
“We won’t be signing Payne Haas,” Politis said in his first interview on the Roosters’ prospects of poaching Brisbane’s No.1 player.
“We are not interested – it’s as simple as that.
“Look, Payne is a great player, that’s not the issue, but if he wants $1m, we don’t have $1m in the salary cap to pay him that much.
“People keep speculating it and writing we want Payne Haas, but just because he is mates with Sonny Bill Williams, it doesn’t mean he is coming to the Roosters.”
Last August, the Broncos board gave approval for a sixyear $5.85m upgrade to be tabled to Haas. For the past eight months, he has baulked at signing the new deal.