Payne Haas isn’t going to Perth, or anywhere else for that matter.
That was the clear message from his manager Ahmad Merhi as the powerful 25-year-old chases the one thing missing from his glittering rugby league resume: an NRL premiership.
“Brisbane is always going to be home for Payne,” Merhi revealed in an interview with AAP.
“We are in dialogue with Brisbane all the time and have a good relationship with them—Payne is not going anywhere.”
MORE: NRL team lists: Every side’s predicted lineup for Round 27
“We will get (an extension) done hopefully as soon as the season is over, now he is just focused on the competition,” Merhi added.
Right now, the subject of that focus is Thursday night and a rematch with the NRL team that continues to give the Broncos nightmares, the Melbourne Storm.
Victory at Suncorp Stadium would assure Haas and the Broncos a prized top four finish, but it’s far from a straightforward task given Brisbane has lost 17 of their last 18 clashes with the Storm, including the disastrous ‘triple hammy’ match in Melbourne just four weeks ago.
‘I want to win a premiership for Brisbane’
It’s widely known that Haas nearly joined the Storm early in his career, until an intervention by ex-coach Wayne Bennett convinced him to stay at Red Hill.
But does he ever wonder what it may have been like to be on the other side playing for a different super coach, Craig Bellamy?
“No regrets, I love this club and I’m glad that happened,” Haas declared ahead off the Round 27 clash.
“I’m very grateful for the journey here and very grateful to be a Bronco.
“I want to win a premiership for Brisbane, that’s been my main goal ever since I started playing here.
“I know it’s something missing on my resume, it’s something I really want and I’ll be going hard for it this year.”
‘We know what’s at stake’
In even better news for the Broncos—and bad news for rivals—Haas also revealed he’s put his well documented back troubles during the State of Origin series behind him.
“The staff here have really looked after me the past month so,” Haas said.
“I feel good and I’m just keen for this back end of the year.
“It’s crucial (to beat Melbourne), no team has won the comp outside the top four, we know what’s at stake this week when Thursday rolls around, it’s big game for us.”