Payne Haas is set to runout alongside his Broncos team-mates just 24 hours after his mother faces court in Brisbane on multiple counts of manslaughter.
Uiatu ‘Joan' Taufua, the mother of Haas, is set to face court on Thursday charged with three counts of manslaughter as well as one charge of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, evading police, and driving without a license.
The Brisbane Broncos front-rower took personal leave following the incident, and kept it short and sweet after being questioned over the impeding court date.
“It's been all right – obviously I'm just here to play footy and I keep that stuff away (from the field),” Haas told media at training.
“I have some good people around me, so it hasn't hit me as much as people think it has.”
You couldn't blame the front-rower for taking further time off if he needed it this week, but instead, Haas' focus is on the Cowboys.
Despite contesting the Roosters-Rabbitohs as the NRL's strongest rivalry, North Queensland have had the wind at their back in recent seasons, winning four of their last five against the Broncos, including 38-12 and and 40-26 wins last year.
They've been so dominant, now Cowboys players are climbing they've become 'big brother' - and Haas couldn't disagree.
“Yeah they have a right to say that, they've beaten us the past few times,” Haas said.
“But we'll look to get that back this week.
“They put some scores on us in both games (last season) and it's something we're not proud of – especially at Suncorp last year, they pulled our pants down.”
While they'll be buoyed by the return of Reece Walsh at fullback, Haas is taking pride in last week's win over the Panthers, leaking just two tries throughout the entire contest.
The 23-year-old prop led from the front alongside lock Patrick Carrigan, with the duo combining for nearly 400 metres.
“Obviously we knew it was going to be a tough task for us going to Penrith, especially because they lost that World Club Challenge a few weeks before that,” he said.
“We knew we would have to be on our game and yeah, (I am) pretty proud of the boys' effort, especially in defence.
“Obviously knowing what we do in defence and knowing each other inside and out. We put a lot of trust in each other now.”
