Payne Haas is a future superstar, if not a current one. The 19-year-old Broncos forward has emerged as a newfound leader of Brisbane’s pack, and a New South Wales bolter, but Freddy can’t unleash him - yet.
Haas has been in rep selectors' eyesight for years, with his 194cm and 119kg frame ensuring he dominates any opposition he comes up against. One of Brisbane’s major problems at the start of the year was the lack of a ‘pack leader’, someone that led from the front and got the other forwards rolling.
Payne missed the opening four games of the season through suspension for an off-field indiscretion, but when he returned to the field, he took up the mantle of pack leader as quickly as he could.
The problem is - Haas has only played 10 games in the NRL. Brisbane's 8-2 win over the Warriors in New Zealand saw him finally crack the double-digits. 10.
He’s still getting used to the week in, week out rigours and pace of the NRL, and Origin is a whole different level.
The sheer speed and physicality of the Origin arena will be nothing like Haas has ever experienced. He’s never even played a finals game.
Funnily enough, if Freddy does pick Haas on his bench for the Blues, then the prop will actually be breaking his coach’s record for most inexperienced player in an Origin game.
Fittler made his State of Origin debut after 12 first-grade games for New South Wales, an individual accolade Haas would break by two games.
His stats make him easily one of the Blues’ best prop candidates, averaging 172 metres and 34 tackles a game since coming into the NRL in Round 5.
To make his numbers even more phenomenal, Haas is currently fasting for his first ever Ramadan, meaning he can’t eat or drink during daylight hours. He left last week’s game against the then ladder-leading Roosters as the man of the match.
Despite this, Haas needs a little more time. Fittler would be crazy not to bring him in as 18th man, maybe even debut him Game III if it’s a dead rubber. But you can’t overstate his rawness. Throwing a player so young into the rep arena is a dangerous game. If they fail, it can scar them and hurt their performances for a long time.
Haas could easily be a starter for the Blues in 2020, he just needs this year to come into the fold, see what’s required of an Origin player, and spend the remainder of this year and the start of 2020 working towards those goals.
That’s why the Blues Haas to wait to unleash Payne on the Maroons.
They said that about ponga last year in the first 2 games.
“Oooooo he’s to young. He’s too inexperienced”.
Injuries to others saw him get a chance in game 3 and he lit the place up.
Daley was too gun shy to give the youngsters a crack.
Don’t make the same mistakes Fred. Pull the trigger.