Payne Haas dominated fitness drills on his first day at South Sydney training but won’t start contact work until January, with the former Broncos prop again forced to shut down theories on why he left the biggest club in Queensland.
Haas returned to training earlier than expected given he’ll be away in December for his wedding.
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The world’s best forward looms as one of the biggest signings for 2027 and is seen as the man who can lead the Bunnies to their first premiership in 13 years.
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Haas has already won a competition with Brisbane in 2025 which made his decision to sign with the Rabbitohs a few months later one of the most significant stories of the season.
It led to speculation that he’d fallen out with coach Michael Maguire and that he didn’t appreciate the hectic training loads, but Haas set the record straight on Monday.
“It definitely wasn’t the training or the coach,” he said.
“I think the thought of moving scared me and made me uncomfortable, and that’s why I really wanted to do it.
Haas begins new chapter at Souths | 03:02
“Leaving Brisbane, I could have just stayed there for the next five years, signed and been comfortable.
“I didn’t want to have any regrets. When I had that feeling of moving and that sense of being uncomfortable, I just wanted to do it. I pulled the trigger, I’m glad I did, and I’m here now ready to earn respect.
“I feel uncomfortable, but I’m ready to be uncomfortable.”
The external noise followed him everywhere he went in Brisbane, with plenty of people questioning his motives for moving.
“I don’t really care what people think, to be honest,” he said.
“Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions. People close to me and people up there know the real reason. I wanted to be uncomfortable, I needed a change, and I’ve got that now. I’m really excited to be here.”
Haas will reunite with Wayne Bennett who handed him his NRL debut at the Broncos in 2018.
The 26-year-old said it was surreal to join the club he supported when he was younger, with Haas carving it up alongside South Sydney’s younger players at training on Monday morning.
Veteran Cody Walker was also running around which suggests he’s about to sign a new deal with the club for 2027.
Haas will be part of a terrifying squad featuring Cameron Murray and Latrell Mitchell, with the key forward’s brothers also at the club which has made the move easier.
But he won’t be running any contact drills with his new teammates until January with Haas nursing two injured fingers that plagued him all season and ruled him out of the World Cup.
“I don’t think people understood how big it was,” he said.
“I’m out for four months, so I can’t do contact until January, so I’m just running around.
“It’s called a boutonniere. It’s when your tendons rip off from the top and your fingers start going like that (bending).
“I was playing with that since round one, and I just wanted to keep going for the boys because it was unlikely I’d play with my best mates again week in, week out. So I really wanted to do that.
“It was a sacrifice I made, sacrificing playing in the World Cup, because I wanted to finish off the year with my best mates at the Broncos.”
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