NSW medical staff have revealed it was a miracle Payne Haas overcame a grade-two quad tear to play in Origin I – and how a selfless Broncos coach Michael Maguire threw his support their bold plan to fast-track the prop’s return for the series opener.
Haas barely trained in the ten days leading up to the Suncorp Stadium series opener before he took nearly 20 carries in an epic man-of-the-match performance in the Blues’ 18-6 win over Queensland.
The game’s best front-rower said he was never going to disappoint his teammates, nor his state, including the flood victims on the NSW mid north coast.
“I was going to play, no matter what,” Haas said. “I’m proud and privileged and blessed to be a part of this group.
“We did our captain’s run on Tuesday, and I got a bit nervous on the bus because of the limited preparation. But the boys showed faith in me and Laurie [Daley], and I didn’t want to let them down.”
NSW doctor Nathan Gibbs said Haas was facing a two-week recovery, but they only had 10 days. Gibbs said they sought the advice of Maguire, a former Blues coach, who had the most to lose if Haas re-aggravated the quad injury early into the game, and then became unavailable for his club.
Payne Haas charges at the Queensland defence.Credit: Getty Images
“We spoke to Michael Maguire on Sunday when it [the injury] happened, and asked him, ‘what do you think if we try to get him to play?’,” Gibbs said.
“‘Madge’ [Maguire] could have been selfish [because] Brisbane haven’t been going well, and Payne is a massive part of their team. But he said, straight away, ‘he’ll play for sure – you need him to win’.
“Madge was all in for NSW and Payne playing for NSW.
“He had a bad tear in his lateral quad, which is one that does recover quicker normally, but it was still a couple of weeks, best-case scenario. It was grade two, and we were shaving time off to get him ready in ten days.
“Laurie basically said, ’I want him ready at 8pm on Wednesday. We were pushing the envelope and taking a risk because if he gets injured in the first minute and has to come off, [it has a] massive effect on your rotations and your bench numbers.
“Payne, all the credit goes to him. When he came into camp, I asked him if he’d be right to play. He said ‘absolutely, yes’. No hesitation, nothing.
“I was watching Payne in the first 10 minutes. His power, speed, leg speed, contact, everything [had] so much effort … watching him keep going at the level he did, he was just incredible. He’s a very special athlete.”
Haas has long been regarded the game’s premier prop, but said he still had more growth to achieve. He was grateful for the win at Suncorp, an unhappy hunting ground for the Broncos the past two NRL matches.
“I wouldn’t say I’m at the top of my game, but I feel like I’m improving a lot, there’s still a lot of stuff to work on. I’m only 25, there’s a long way to go,” Haas said.
“We’ll enjoy the win now, enjoy going back to our clubs and working hard, then prepare for [game two] in Perth.”
While Haas was enormous, fellow front-rower Spencer Leniu was given the frostiest reception by the locals. When the Roosters forward was injected from the bench into the game after Brian To’o scored in the 28th minute, Leniu waited for the kick-off but Valentine Holmes kicked off to the other side of the field. Leniu threw his arms in the air in disappointment.
“I saw that on the big screen, and that’s ‘Spennie’, Haas said.
“He wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s so powerful – I haven’t seen anyone as powerful as him – and I’m happy he’s in my team.”
