How Bennett masterminded the game's biggest signing coup since Lazarus

Front-row great James Graham has declared South Sydney's recruitment of Payne Haas to be the biggest signing in the history of the NRL - and possibly the game.

Not since Glenn Lazarus stunned the Raiders by joining the Broncos in 1992 has there been a bigger transfer bombshell than Haas's decision to move from Brisbane to the Rabbitohs in 2027.

Significantly, Souths coach Wayne Bennett was also the man who lured Lazarus to Brisbane from Canberra, where he had coached the NRL Hall of Famer in 1987.

After premiership triumphs in 1989 and 1990 with the Raiders, Lazarus enjoyed immediate success to Red Hill, with the Broncos breaking through for their first premiership win in 1992 and going back-to-back in 1993.

Graham, whose own recruitment by the Bulldogs from St Helens in 2012 was considered one of the biggest signings in the NRL at the time, believes the arrival of Haas will immediately propel Souths into premiership contention.  

"It's the biggest signing in the NRL era and arguably in our game's era," Graham said on his The Bye Round podcast.

"For me this surpasses Cooper Cronk signing from the Melbourne Storm to the Sydney Roosters back in 2018 and I say that because I have Payne Haas as the best forward in the competition as it stands, and arguably the greatest forward to ever play our great game.

"South Sydney lose Keaon Koloamatangi (to the Dragons), and that is a huge loss for them, but they now skyrocket into one of the favourites for the competition as soon as Payne Hass lands at Redfern."   

After last year helping the Broncos to their first premiership since 2006, Haas is now set to reunite with Bennett, who handed him his NRL debut in 2018.

The 26-year-old reportedly told the Broncos, "I need a change", and Lazarus made the move from Canberra to Brisbane in 1992 for the same reason.

"That was one of the hardest decisions of my life but it was something I felt I needed to do," Lazarus explained to NRL.com in a previous interview.

"I had lived in Canberra all my life and needed the change. Having Wayne [Bennett] as coach in Brisbane got me over the line. And then when I got up there I did more interviews in one day than I had in five years at the Raiders.

"I knew I was under a fair bit of pressure. The media had been talking up how this star-studded Broncos side hadn't played in grand finals because they didn't have a 'world class' front-rower and all that.

"But it was a wonderful club to come into and we dominated that year and St George put up a great fight in the grand final before we were able to get away with it in the end.

"There was a lot of relief for me in winning that first Broncos grand final, it felt like it justified the move and the faith of Wayne in bringing me to the club."

Fellow Broncos great Petero Civoniceva recently predicted Haas could join Lazarus as the greatest prop of all time.

Lazarus, who won five grand finals at three clubs after bowing out with a premiership win with the Storm in 1999, was the dominant forward in the game for a decade. 

It’s a similar path to the one Haas has blazed since his NRL debut in 2018, the Broncos enforcer winning the Dally M prop of the year for the past five seasons as he quickly developed into one of the best players in the world.

"We’re seeing a once in a generation type of player," Civoniceva told NRL.com. "Everyone is blown away by the way he plays.

"I called him one of a kind when he made his NRL debut. He’s lived up to that and I’m excited to see how his career unfolds. With the way he’s playing, he’s cemented himself as one of the elite players in our game.

"Into the future, what will his legacy be? We talk about Glenn Lazarus as one of the greatest front-rowers ever. He was able to win multiple titles at a few different clubs, that in itself is a huge achievement.

"If Payne can get to those highs, his numbers are undeniable what he does week in, week out. If he continues on that trajectory, we’ll be talking about him in the future as one of the greatest ever."