{"id":476357,"date":"2026-02-13T02:16:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T02:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/476357\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T02:16:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T02:16:10","slug":"kevin-walters-believes-he-could-have-convinced-payne-haas-to-stay-brisbane-broncos-michael-maguire-reaction-rugby-league-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/476357\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin Walters believes he could have convinced Payne Haas to stay, Brisbane Broncos, Michael Maguire, reaction, rugby league news"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ex-Broncos coach Kevin Walters finds it \u201cpuzzling\u201d that Payne Haas is set to leave Brisbane.<\/p>\n<p>Watch the 2026 NRL Preseason series plus the All-Start matches LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX LEAGUE available on Kayo Sports | <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kayosports.com.au\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Haas will join Souths from next season, deciding to continue his career elsewhere after the 2026 campaign, following a glittering nine-year Broncos career.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/poster-fallback.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>WHAT&#8217;S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n<p>Walters, who coached Haas between 2020 and 2024, finds his former star prop\u2019s decision to leave the Broncos as \u201cpuzzling\u201d and said he wouldn\u2019t have let the 26-year-old walk out the door. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you have Payne Haas in your stable, you do not lose Payne Haas,\u201d Walters said on the Inside Ball podcast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I was coaching in the NRL, he would be one of the first players I would target, so hats off to Wayne Bennett.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has fallen in his hands, it\u2019s great for the Souths fans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Walters was asked by Inside Ball co-host Ben Dobbin if he could have convinced Haas to stay, replying: \u201cBut I\u2019m not coaching there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Just 12 months after a grand final berth, Walters was fired after a disappointing 2024 season and replaced by Michael Maguire. <\/p>\n<p>Now the Kangaroos coach, Walters revealed he has texted Haas, who he calls the \u201cworld\u2019s best prop\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI haven\u2019t spoken to him, I\u2019ve only texted him \u2026 He is OK,\u201d Walters said.<\/p>\n<p>Kevin Walters and Payne Haas.Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is puzzling why he has left. I don\u2019t think it was about money, so what was it about? We are probably never going to know.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is a bit strange without knowing the full details and facts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe bleeds Brisbane. It\u2019s just one of those mysteries. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of the Souths players thought it was April Fool\u2019s Day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dobbin is of the opinion that things at the Broncos might not be so rosy if Haas wants to leave.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a strange, strange decision,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think Brisbane are that disappointed. They believe there is life after Payne.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Haas <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/nrl-premiership\/nrl-2026-payne-haas-breaks-silence-on-brisbane-broncos-exit-michael-maguire-rift-rumours-south-sydney-rabbitohs-contract-wayne-bennett\/news-story\/f579a3164d3a99b39e0c611815515bc8\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">revealed earlier this week that any rumours of a fractured relationship between him, the club or Michael Maguire <\/a>were \u201cfar from the truth\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy decision, it was pretty hard to be honest. Obviously, I love the Broncos and it\u2019s all I\u2019ve known since a kid, since I came in from school,\u201d Haas said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe main factor for me was family. Nothing else to be honest. I felt that being a leader for my family is probably the best move for us to have a change and a fresh new start.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ex-Broncos coach Kevin Walters finds it \u201cpuzzling\u201d that Payne Haas is set to leave Brisbane. Watch the 2026&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476358,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,63,689,48006,651,4428,9810,763,98414,6407,677,13390,701,30384,85,33868,2038,1651],"class_list":{"0":"post-476357","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","11":"tag-ben-dobbin","12":"tag-brisbane","13":"tag-brisbane-broncos","14":"tag-coach-kevin-walters","15":"tag-fox-league","16":"tag-grand-final-berth","17":"tag-michael-maguire","18":"tag-oceania","19":"tag-payne-haas","20":"tag-queensland","21":"tag-rugby-league-news","22":"tag-sports","23":"tag-star-prop","24":"tag-top-job","25":"tag-wayne-bennett"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}