Brisbane Broncos star Payne Haas is no guarantee of representing Samoa at the Rugby League World Cup, booked for surgery on his finger next week.
Haas has been dealing with the problem for much of the year, with the star prop playing his final regular season game on Thursday evening as the Brisbane Broncos came up short against the Canterbury Bulldogs in Sydney.
The prop has committed once again to playing for Samoa, but only if he is fit.
Brisbane missing the finals will give him a month to recover before the start of the tournament, with the NRL Physio explaining he will need surgery to straighten out his fingers.
Payne Haas will undergo surgery next week to “straighten out” 2 fingers on his left hand with some “pins”
Appears to have been playing through finger issues since at least Round 2 (first sign of strapping on his left ring finger) - both ring & pinky finger now have a significant… pic.twitter.com/A1BhycQh5O
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) September 3, 2026
Speaking on Channel 9, Haas admitted the World Cup was not a guarantee.
"I'll talk to the medical team this week and see what happens from there, but once I know and once we find out, everyone will know," he said after the loss to the Bulldogs.
The star prop, who can also represent Australia if he chooses, changed his allegiance to Samoa ahead of the 2025 Pacific Championships and is expected to be the forward pack leader for the island nation at this year's World Cup tournament, which starts on October 15 in Australia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand.
Haas also has a new club's wishes to contend with, with a move to the South Sydney Rabbitohs on the agenda for the start of the 2027 campaign.
It may well be that he puts that ahead of the World Cup campaign, although he made it clear earlier this season that his biggest priority was to play for Samoa.
Samoa made the final of the last World Cup for the first time without the services of Haas, and while they came up short, they will have an opportunity to do more damage this time around.
The tournament format has left them in the combined Group B and C, and while they will likely have to defeat Tonga to sneak through to the semi-finals, the likely to be sold-out game at Parramatta in the group stage could qualify the island nation, where they would then likely take on either Australia or New Zealand in the knockout stage.
