Payne Haas Broncos Departure News: Emotional Exit Nears for Brisbane Star
payne haas broncos departure news has turned personal for Brisbane's 26-year-old prop. Haas said the reality of leaving the Broncos is starting to land as his final months at the club approach. He has spent his entire senior career in Brisbane, so the move closes a long run with teammates he has known since his debut.
"It's hard. Obviously at the start, I didn't really think about it, but now it's coming to an end, you get a bit emotional thinking about it," Haas said while discussing his Broncos departure. He has already announced a three-year deal with Souths from 2027, which gives the ending a date even as he keeps playing through the present season.
Haas and Staggs in Brisbane
"I've been through a lot at this one club and there's lots of people and mates there, we've been together since our debut. Obviously to leave that behind is going to be pretty hard," he said. That is the part of the move that has started to weigh on him most: not just the jersey change, but the split from people who have been part of his career from the start.
Haas also singled out Kotoni Staggs, saying, "We've been through the highs and lows of footy together. It's pretty special." The comment fits the shape of his Broncos exit, which is not a clean break but the end of a relationship built across his entire career in Brisbane.
Laurie Daley's Origin 2 call
That emotional backdrop comes while Haas is in Blues camp preparing for Game 2 against the Maroons next week at the MCG. He missed the Origin series opener through injury, and now returns to Laurie Daley's side hungry to play again.
His situation is different from the one Tom Flegler described after leaving Brisbane in 2023. Flegler said Haas' status as the game's premier front-rower was part of the reason he moved on after the grand final loss to Penrith, while Wayne Bennett was another major factor in his decision to join the Dolphins.
Tom Flegler on leaving Brisbane
Flegler said, "A bit of everything. They were building a good team at the time and Wayne (Bennett, then Dolphins coach) was there too. He was a big reason why I went," before adding, "I think just to be the player I wanted to be and develop a bit further. The Broncos had some very dominant forwards and I think I needed to get out of their shadow a little bit and try my own thing." He returned in 2024 from a career-threatening shoulder injury that sidelined him for 677 days, adding another layer to the story of what it means to leave Brisbane and keep moving.
For Haas, the immediate picture is simpler. He is still in Brisbane now, still with the Blues for Origin 2 next Wednesday night at the MCG, and still carrying the reality that the club he joined as a teenager will soon be behind him.
