BRONCOS BROTHERS OF BASH
BRONCOS giant Payne Haas has revealed how the personal support of All Blacks superstar Sonny Bill Williams has helped him become the most dominant young forward in NRL history.
On the eve of Brisbane’s top-eight blockbuster against Parramatta tomorrow night, Haas outlined his ambition to forge a 10-year alliance with Matt Lodge as the front-row pillars to deliver the Broncos’ next premiership.
Underlining Haas’ ability, News Corp can reveal the 19year-old is statistically the best emerging forward of the past 20 years.
Data provided by Fox Sports Lab shows that Haas is the first forward, under the age of 21, to amass 3000 metres in a single season since the code began tracking individual metre counts in 1999.
Former NSW Origin enforcer Mark O’Meley previously held the record with 2960 metres at age 20 in 2001, but Haas now has 3166m and could finish the 2019 season with a benchmark that may never be beaten.
Such a hunger for metres is inspired by a period when Haas was hungrier than ever.
In May this year, Haas observed Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting.
“Sonny Billy has been pretty good for me this year,” said Haas, who plays his 22nd career game against the Eels at Suncorp Stadium.
“Ramadan was pretty good for me, I lost a bit of weight out of it. But it was good for me mentally and for my faith. I was really blessed to get through that period.
“Sonny Bill spoke to me about getting through games and he gave me advice on how to get through the weeks when I couldn’t fuel my body like others could.
The Broncos are blessed to have a one-two punch in the Haas-Lodge engine room.
“I’m lucky to have a guy like Matt Lodge who does the hard work, it makes it easier for me to attack the other forwards,” he said.