KING OF THE COAST

Could NRL’s latest teen millionaire become our best export ever?

THE Broncos have taken a massive gamble by signing an injured teenager to a $3.4 million deal.

But locking up Gold Coast wunderkind Payne Haas for the next six years may be a masterstroke. Haas has played just three NRL games.

But he has showed enough in those meagre minutes to suggest he could be one of the best players to come out of the Gold Coast in the past two decades. As far as the Broncos are concerned, splashing out on a long-term contract is well worth the risk.

Haas has not risen from the blue. A product of the Keebra Park nursery, he played for the Australian Schoolboys and won the Peter Sterling medal as the country’s best school player.

Amid much fanfare he decided to link with the Broncos after talking to Wayne Bennett, whose “words from the heart” convinced him to head north.

Bennett apparently talked to Haas about staying close to his family and having the best development chance in Brisbane. Nothing can automatically make Haas a once in a generation player but the signs are there.

The Queensland Origin side used him as an Andrew Fifita clone at an opposed session last year and he showed in his debut against the Rabbitohs what a damaging force he can be. But no one has a crystal ball.

Haas’s Keebra teammate Moeaki Fotuaika could not win a starting spot in his school side but has played nine games with the Titans.

Picture: PETER WALLIS Payne Haas has inked a huge deal with the Broncos in a sign of his potential.

Picture: AAP IMAGE Payne Haas (centre at Broncos training) has become the most talked about Gold Coast product in years.