NRL 2026 Four Point Focus: Payne Passing Through The Middle

The Four Point Focus breaks down a try from every round of the 2025 NRL season, highlighting the context, shape, trigger and the lessons learned. It’s viewed with an eye on 2026 as we look for trends, breakout players and hints of what might be to come next season.

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Point 1 - The Context

Payne Haas is already the best prop in the game.

He pulls off plays somebody of his size simply shouldn’t, and has the motor to do it all across a full 80 minutes.

Where some of the best ball-carriers in the NRL might take shorcuts in defence, or as some of the most productive defenders avoid a tough carry, Haas is doing it all on both sides of the ball.

However, as we saw as the Brisbane Broncos took on the St George Illawarra Dragons in Round 11, he’s still adding to his game.

Point 2 - The Shape

The defender sits on his heels when he sees Haas coming. Bracing for contact, he wants his body in front to slow the big prop down enough for his teammates to join the tackle.

Haas can account for three defenders in the line as soon as he touches the ball. All three are on high alert even if only one is assigned Haas in the line. With that comes opportunity out wide, and we saw exactly how that can play out with Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mam linking up on the edge in this one.

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