Fantasy cash cow watch: Payne Haas
A 19-year-old, 194cm man mountain, Payne Haas is one of the most promising young forwards in the Telstra Premiership – a player with the size and (potential) work rate to become a dominant Fantasy player.
But at this stage of his career and in a stacked Brisbane forward pack, is Haas worth snapping up – even at a bargain price?
Positives
It's all about potential. Haas has had huge raps on him for a while now – particularly his uncanny endurance efforts at training – and the Broncos obviously have a ton of faith in him after signing him to a monster six-year deal in July.
Brisbane have let fellow middle forwards Josh McGuire and Korbin Sims go in the off-season and the presence of Haas is one of the reasons why.
Then there's his Fantasy starting price. Haas starts the new season dirt cheap after a shoulder injury ended his 2018 season after three brief cameos off the bench.
He only averaged a dozen minutes and 11 Fantasy points in those games, but he has the stamina to pump out much bigger stints this season and under new coach Anthony Seibold could get his chance.
Five key match-ups of the Broncos' 2019 draw
Negatives
At another club, a player with Haas's youth and talent would be a standout.
But at the Broncos, he's joined by fellow forwards David Fifita (19), Jaydn Su'A (21), Tevita Pangai jnr (23), Matt Lodge (23) and Joe Ofahengaue (23), who are all set to feature in a forward rotation that also includes veteran second-rowers Matt Gillett and Alex Glenn.
Lodge and Ofahengaue are ahead of Haas on the pecking order for a starting front-row spot, meaning the youngster is set to battle for minutes from the bench, where there's no guarantee his game time will grow significantly, especially after a long-term injury.
To buy or not to buy?
Let's face it, squeezing a quality 21-man squad under the salary cap is tough at the start of the 2019 season so getting a player like Haas with a near basement price is an attractive proposition.
He's a gamble, as he's expected to be named on the interchange in round one and is game time will remain somewhat of an unknown in the early rounds.
Then again, a player like Viliame Kikau showed in round one last season that even in a 35-minute stint from a hard-running bench forward can make a major impact in Fantasy.
