EXCLUSIVE: Payne Haas' 'escape' from tragedy in remarkable rise to 'best' in the NRL
All you need is a pair of eyes to know Payne Haas is special.
But then come the stats.
The Broncos star tops the league with 344 post-contact metres through four rounds, possibly the most telling statistic for a forward.
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Haas will rank in the top 10 in total runs by the end of the round, in a list dominated by outside backs, while ranking fourth in running metres.
Payne Haas won the inaugural "Battle Medal" for the man of the match in the Broncos - Dolphins clash. NRL Imagery
This is no anomaly. Such is Haas' dominance and consistency, you would be forgiven for mistaking him for a hardened veteran halfway through his career.
The Broncos prop has been the brightest shining light at the club in recent years, going about his business and achieving individual success even as his team languished.
But this year could be the year when the Broncos and Haas fly in the same direction, with Brisbane undefeated to begin the season.
While you could have made the case that he was the best prop in the game two years ago, the 23-year-old is definitely at the top of the list now according to league great Darren Lockyer.
"I can't see who you put in front of him," the club legend told Wide World of Sports' QLDER. "What makes him really special is other than his workload and his go forward and his post contact metres is being able to read the game as well.
"There's times where the opposition makes a break and he's back there or made a cover tackle he reads the game really well.
"A lot of opposition teams do their homework on him and try and mitigate his game and still can't do it. He's been so good for the Broncos for so long."
Haas' commitment and professionalism is not only a feature of his overall game, it gives the Broncos a platform to build around their best player and veteran half Adam Reynolds.
Haas makes a run against the Dolphins. Bradley Kanaris via Getty Images
The continuance of Haas' rise as the best forward in the game has come amid a backdrop of tragedy following a triple-fatal crash last December on the Gold Coast involving his mother.
Uiatu 'Joan' Taufua was charged with three counts of manslaughter and one count each of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, evading police and driving without a licence. A charge of drink driving has been added since the initial incident.
A day after his mother was issued the drink-driving charge stemming from the crash, the Broncos prop posted a message on Instagram from Zimbabwean Islamic scholar Mufti Menk: "Remember that your character should always be stronger than what you're experiencing in life. We can't always control what happens to us, but we can always control how we react and respond to it. Instead of complaining, choose to give thanks for all the good in your life."
League legend Wally Lewis said Haas' level of play and his attitude at training has been exemplary during the trying time for the footballer and the family of the victims of the crash.
"There's only one person who can tell us how hard that is and that's Payne," Lewis told QLDER.
"Media members are always keeping an eye to see if there's any fallout from a situation like that but he hasn't let it affect him and that has been the most impressive feature.
Haas 'reads the game really well' says Lockyer. Getty
"He's a guy I've spoken to a number of times, he's a lovely bloke. The way he volunteers his services in the toughest and tightest of times that's what's really impressed me."
The football field had helped Haas deal with the off field issues thrown his way, added Locker.
"When things are dramatised off the field, footy can be your sanctuary and sharpens your focus," Lockyer said.
"He's used his footy to maybe take his mind off that and escape, and just keep his mind on what he needs to do with the footy team. And obviously his form is reflective of that."
Haas will start for the Broncos against cellar dwellers Wests Tigers at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
If Brisbane win, it will be their fifth victory in a row to start the season, which is their best start since the NRL's inaugural year in 1998. The Broncos beat the Bulldogs that year in the grand final 38-12.
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