Broncos star Payne Haas has lifted the lid on the club’s disaster of a season and why he thinks the addition of head coach Michael Maguire will pay dividends.
In 2024, Haas was once again one of the premier front rowers in the comp when he was on the field, but injuries and rep duties caused him to miss 10 club games in a season Brisbane missed the grand final, a year after they made the decider in 2023.
Speaking to The Courier Mail, Haas says the Broncos didn’t work as hard as they should have at different parts of this past season.
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“I saw a few things that I won’t go into too much, but we needed to work harder,” Haas said.
Haas reflected on his time in Blues Origin camp this year under Maguire, who had a successful hit-and-run mission as New South Wales coach before being offered the Broncos job.
“I was watching some of the other boys in the NSW team. The way they did things … I felt like we could be doing things better at the Broncos,” the prop said.
“Being in those rep camps, you learn from the best. You take away certain things and you talk about what these guys in other teams are doing and I feel we can implement it at the Broncos
“I took away a lot from what ‘Madge’ (Maguire) said and what he stands for.
“That Origin camp made me think about how I should approach being in this team.”
Haas and the Broncos have hit the ground running in Maguire’s first pre-season at the club.
A notoriously hard task master, Maguire put the Broncos through their paces in the first week of pre-season training as he looks to put his imprint on the club’s training standards.
Several players pushed themselves to the limits with vomit buckets detected around training.
Haas is one player who appreciates the extra work required to be great and thinks Maguire’s intensity will only be a good thing.
“Madge will bring a hard edge, he’ll expect a lot from us,” Haas said.
“It was a tough session last Monday, but with Madge, as long as you’re giving it a red-hot crack, that’s all he will ask for.
“That’s all we need from everyone this season. Giving it your best every day and you know if you do that, you’re surely going to get better.
“Yes, Madge is really big on competing all the time. He can be intense, but to be honest, I reckon that’s what we need at the Broncos.
“I just can’t wait to get stuck in day in, day out. I really want to go after it.”
