Front-row legends hail 'next level' Payne Haas as NSW powerhouse carves out path to greatness

Legendary NSW front-rower Steve "Blocker" Roach reckons the current-day leader of the Blues' pack, Payne Haas, boasts a work-rate unrivalled by any prop he's seen.

"I don't think I've ever seen a bloke with an engine like him in the front row," Roach told Wide World of Sports.

Roach, the bullocking Balmain, NSW and Kangaroos front-rower from the 1980s and 1990s, watched on in awe as Haas demolished Queensland in the State of Origin opener on Wednesday night.

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In 58 minutes of football at Suncorp Stadium, the powerhouse Broncos prop racked up 156 run metres from 18 carries, and laid 30 tackles, to inspire the Blues to an 18-6 triumph.

He then joined an exclusive club in taking out man-of-the-match honours, becoming just the 15th front-rower in State of Origin's 45-year history to be judged best afield.

And he did that despite having carried a quad strain into the game.

"He's the new prototype now," Roach added.

"With the engine that he's got, he's got an unbelievable capacity to take punishment and just keep going.

"He doesn't seem to change pace from his first hit-up to his last."

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But as another NSW front-row great pointed out to Wide World of Sports in the wake of game one, Haas' monumental engine is not the only attribute that sets him apart.

"He's got the skill and athleticism to play in the outside backs," said Mark Carroll, who carved out a superlative career in the 1980s and 1990s with South Sydney, Manly, NSW and Australia.

The man known as "Spudd" was similarly glowing of Haas' engine.

"His work-rate is unbelievable," Carroll said. "He looks to me like he doesn't breathe; I'd be sucking worms out of the grass!"

Most of the 15 props who've won man of the match in Origin history have done so wearing blue. Les Davidson (1987), Paul Harragon (1994) and Rodney Howe (1998) were the first three Blues props to claim the gong. Luke Bailey (2003) and Willie Mason (2006) followed in their thunderous footsteps, as did Andrew Fifita (2017) and Jake Trbojevic (2019). And Paul Gallen was awarded man of the match twice, in 2011 and 2014.

The first Maroons prop to win the gong was Sam Backo, who did so twice in the 1988 series. Martin Bella also won it twice, in 1989 and 1991. Shane Webcke joined the list in 1998 and Steve Price in 2005, and both Reuben Cotter and Lindsay Collins followed in 2023.

Bailey and Collins won their man-of-the-match gongs off the bench.

Haas had his coming of age in the Origin arena in game two of the 2020 series, and it wasn't only with the punches he copped and threw himself in an encounter with Tino Fa'asuamaleaui that he announced he belonged.

Starting on the field for the first time in his Origin career, at the age of 20 no less, he churned out 165 run metres from 17 carries, and made 25 tackles, in 49 minutes. No other forward, from NSW or Queensland, piled up so many run metres or carries in that game, won by the Blues 34-10.

He's consistently dominated in his last six Origin games — a purple patch in which he's averaged 17 carries, 145 run metres, 34 tackles and 56 minutes per match.

He carted the ball up more than all other front-rowers in every one of those six games, and more than any other forward in five of them.

He spent more minutes on the field than all other props in three of those six matches. And the only prop who topped him in that area in that six-game stretch was Cotter, who's more of a back-rower than a front-rower and is therefore expected to play big minutes.

Carroll noted Haas' ability to pass and offload.

"His skill level is next level," he said.

"He knows when to pass, when not to pass. Anyone can pass every time; you've got to know when to [do it].

"And he makes 10 metres and then he offloads."

He produced three offloads on Wednesday night, more than all other players on the park. He's also averaged three offloads per game in his last five Origin appearances.

"He's hard to combat," Carroll said.

Kevin Walters played at the Broncos with legendary front-rower Glenn Lazarus and coached Haas during his time as Brisbane's coach. On Nine's 100% Footy in 2021, Walters likened Haas to "The Brick With Eyes".

Roach packed a scrum with Lazarus in the Origin arena, and he reckons that comparison is on the mark.

"Lazarus could play long minutes and had the quickest play-the-ball for a big man that I've seen, still to this day," Roach said.

"Everyone's different, but if I was to liken him to anyone it would probably be Glenn Lazarus."

Haas is still only 25. How high a regard will he be held in when he eventually hangs up his boots? It's a frightening prospect.

In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald in 2020, Lazarus said Haas could one day "be spoken about in the Arthur Beetson mould".

The late "Big Artie" is one of 14 rugby league Immortals, and in 2008 was named in the front row in the Australian Rugby League Team of the Century.

"The number one [front-rower] of all time in my opinion was the great Arthur Beetson," Roach said.

"He [Haas] is probably not at that level yet, but who knows? I might make a different judgement when he finishes his career."