{"id":958558,"date":"2026-11-09T20:28:13","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T20:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/958558\/"},"modified":"2026-11-09T20:28:13","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T20:28:13","slug":"nrl-news-2026-payne-haas-speaks-after-first-rabbitohs-training-session-broncos-exit-michael-maguire-rumours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/958558\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL news 2026: Payne Haas speaks after first Rabbitohs training session, Broncos exit, Michael Maguire rumours"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rabbitohs<\/a> recruit Payne Haas<\/a> has spoken for the first time since joining the club, again denying any falling out with Broncos<\/a> coach Michael Maguire<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The 26-year-old started pre-season training with South Sydney on Monday, getting in early before he gets married next month.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Payne Haas at Rabbitohs training.\u00a0Instagram\/@ssfcrabbitohs<\/p>\n

Haas said coach Wayne Bennett<\/a> gave him time off in December for the wedding, allowing the front-rower a chance to get his feet on the ground early.<\/p>\n

Speaking to media at the club\u2019s training base in Maroubra, the champion prop opened up on the move to Sydney and how he\u2019s settling in as a Rabbitoh.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels good, it feels pretty surreal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI supported this club growing up and to be here at this club is pretty special, and I\u2019m just eager to get to know the boys and earn their respect.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s different, it took me a bit to adjust to the lifestyle here, especially coming from Brisbane where it\u2019s a bit slower, but I\u2019m really enjoying my time. Everyone has welcomed not only myself but my family with open arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came back early, Wayne gave me a bit of time off in December. I\u2019m getting married to my partner \u2013 I\u2019m very excited about it, a bit nervous as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haas is one of the Broncos\u2019 all-time greats and his bombshell decision to quit the club and move to Souths in 2027 took everyone by surprise.<\/p>\n

The contract call has led to ongoing speculation surrounding Haas and Maguire<\/a>, with many in the game theorising the pair had a falling out.<\/p>\n

But when asked point-blank why he left Brisbane, Haas quickly squashed suggestions it was because of Maguire\u2019s coaching methods.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely wasn\u2019t the training or the coach,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thought of moving scared me, and it made me uncomfortable and that\u2019s why I really wanted to do it. I could have just stayed there [at Brisbane] for the next five years and be comfortable … I didn\u2019t want to have any regrets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I had the sense of being uncomfortable, I just wanted to pull the trigger.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really care what people think, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but people close to me and people up there know the real reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cI needed a change, and I\u2019ve got that now, so I\u2019m really excited to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Payne Haas.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

Haas joins the Bunnies as one of the game\u2019s most accomplished big men, having won a premiership in 2025 to go along with 18 State of Origin matches for NSW.<\/p>\n

The signing bolsters the South Sydney forward pack for the next two years and puts the Bennett-coached side straight into premiership contention.<\/p>\n

But when asked if he felt pressure to deliver premierships after joining as the club\u2019s biggest-ever signing, Haas played down the expectations. <\/p>\n

\u201cNah, no way \u2013 I\u2019m just here to do my work and worry about my own job, and I\u2019m here to fit in with how the South Sydney boys have their culture,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not really worried about that kind of stuff, I\u2019m just worried about doing my part, playing my role and training as hard as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rabbitohs recruit Payne Haas has spoken for the first time since joining the club, again denying any falling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":958559,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-958558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958558","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=958558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/958559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=958558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=958558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=958558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}