Payne Haas has been criticized for not dominating in the State of Origin arena as he does in the NRL with the Brisbane Broncos. Haas, who has won five consecutive Paul Morgan Medals as the Broncos’ player of the year and has been named Dally M Prop of the Year for the last four years, has not managed to take control of an Origin series. This criticism is similar to that often directed at Nathan Cleary.
On Wednesday night’s NRL 360 show, former premiership winner and host Braith Anasta discussed Haas’s performance after comparing his NRL and Origin statistics. Haas is one of the most destructive forwards in the NRL, averaging around 160 metres per game, but at Origin level, this drops to 111 metres. His post-contact metres decrease from 70 per game in the NRL to 45 in Origin, and his tackle busts go from 3.62 per game for the Broncos to just 1.25 for the Blues.
Several factors, such as game time and the quality of the opposition, contribute to these discrepancies. However, the fact remains that Haas has yet to make a significant impact in an Origin series like past greats such as Shane Webcke, Petero Civoniceva, Glenn Lazarus, and Paul Harragon.
“Is he not owning it for NSW at Origin level? There’s a significant difference between his Broncos form and his form for NSW,” Anasta remarked on NRL 360. Fox League’s James Hooper responded: “He’s won four or five Paul Morgan Medals as Brisbane’s best player. I don’t know how many Dally M Prop of the Year awards, but it would be a similar number.
“At club level, he’s regarded as one of the elite front rowers in the game, but at State of Origin level, he’s yet to deliver for the Blues. The challenge is on. I like the fact that it’s become a headline, and being the style of player and the bloke that he is, I think that he will handle it.”
Payne Haas challenged to step up at State of Origin level
Queensland and Broncos legend Gorden Tallis acknowledged that while comparing club and representative footy stats is difficult, he conceded that Payne Haas “hasn’t dominated” on the Origin stage for NSW as he does for Brisbane. “I think if you put most stats up against Origin stats, it’d probably be the same (as Haas’). It’s such a difficult arena,” Tallis said.
“Payne has done his job in State of Origin, but he just hasn’t dominated. We’ve watched him at club level do his 20 hit-ups and be the best player on the field, but he’s yet to really dominate for NSW.” Anasta noted that the challenge for Haas is to start influencing games for his state as he does at the club level.
“That’s the point. If you put everyone’s stats up, they are going to be quite different between Origin and clubland, but not the greats and not the ones that make a difference,” Anasta replied. Hooper agreed, adding that an analysis of the great Origin front-rowers of the past highlights the impact they had on games and series for their state.
“If you go back over all the great front-rowers, whether they played for NSW or Queensland—Glenn Lazarus, Shane Webcke, Petero Civoniceva, Steve Roach, Mark O’Meley from the Blues more recently—they get it done and they win series. That’s the challenge for Payne.”
