Brisbane Broncos great Corey Parker has urged the club not to rule troubled youngster Payne Haas out of the captaincy race, with Kevin Walters opening up contention for the role after failing to guarantee Alex Glenn the position for 2021.
Haas will face court next month after allegedly intimidating police on the Gold Coast, with the Broncos star initially in the running as the next skipper at Red Hill.
Now, with fears surrounding the 21-year-old's future at Brisbane, several candidates stand a stronger chance to take over the reigns from Glenn.
Speaking to The Courier Mail, Parker said there were plenty of options at hand for Walters, one of which must be Haas.
"From working alongside them, Payne Haas comes to mind,” said Parker, who was an assistant to former coach Anthony Seibold.
“He leads every week, his standards at training are high.
“‘Payno’ doesn’t talk often, but when he does people listen. They just do. That is off the back of the respect he gets every week on the playing field and more importantly the training paddock.
“When your captain is someone who lives up to the high quality standards then that is captaincy material to me.
“Yes, he has had a couple of moments that haven’t shone great on him but haven’t all captains had that? He hasn’t murdered anyone.
“If you want to put things in perspective, Mitchell Pearce captained the Knights last year and he had a past. Johnathan Thurston (arrested in 2010) was one of the great captains and had a past. Paul Gallen (Cronulla) was the same, Justin Hodges, myself. We’ve all had our moments.
“I’m following Payne into battle. If he says ‘let’s do it’ then I’m following him. He has shown over the last few years ‘this is the way, this is what we’re doing’.
“He shouldn’t be ruled out because of this.”
Along with Haas and Glenn, Anthony Milford and Patrick Carrigan are seen as viable options as Walters key man.
Parker said the role is one of the most illustrious in the country.
“The captaincy of the Broncos is one of the most prestigious achievements and roles you can have, the club has been founded and built on success,” he said.
“When I got the captaincy, shared with ‘Hodgo’ and by myself, was a special, emotional day. The club means so much to so many people.
“For me it was a boyhood dream to play for the Broncos. To be named captain was a special occasion.
“To hear it is ‘up for grabs’…it is what it is. There’s been a change over the last few years where it became ‘who gets it?’. It’s like a lottery at the moment.
“Previous to that, over the last few decades, you knew who would be next in line.
“There are some wonderful leaders there and it’s not their fault, but it’s disappointing to hear it’s up for grabs. It’s the Brisbane Broncos.”
