Brisbane Broncos star Payne Haas has slammed his side for their performance against the last-placed St George Illawarra Dragons and blown up at his teammates for ‘bullsh**ting’ each other about improving.
Haas, who made a return to the side in Sunday’s loss after a long injury lay-off, has torched the team after the 30-26 loss at Suncorp Stadium.
The result saw the Broncos slump to a third consecutive defeat to St George Illawarra at Suncorp Stadium, in what was the joint venture club’s first win of the year.
After the match, Haas summed up the state of his club in a telling interview with ABC Radio.
‘We are all talk at the moment,’ Haas said.
‘We keep on saying we are going to do all these important things on the field, but to be honest we are just bullsh**ting each other.’
Payne Haas (pictured) has taken aim at his side after their shocking performance against the St George Illawarra Dragons
Haas (pictured running the ball against the Dragons) slammed his teammates for ‘bullsh**ting each other’ about how they’re improving
The 26-year-old (pictured) made his return to action after suffering a knee injury
Haas’s comments come as coach Michael Maguire warned his players that expecting a fairytale ending like the one they had last season is a pipe dream.
The Dragons defeat was Brisbane’s fourth loss in a row and they are in 11th position after 13 rounds, with five wins and seven losses.
The defending premiers were 11th after 13 rounds last year with the same win-loss record, and were also coming off four straight losses.
Coincidentally, they host the Gold Coast on Saturday – the same team they played at Suncorp Stadium in round 14 last year when a 44-14 win turned their season around and led to a charge to the premiership.
But Maguire said it was foolish to expect history to repeat for the Broncos in 2026.
‘If we’re relying on past history we might find ourselves in a little bit of bother,’ he said.
‘Everyone can tell a good story of the past, but it’s what you’re doing right now.
‘I can compare stories, but I’ve never seen two years the same.
‘I’ve never seen a group of men do it in a way they’ve done it in the past.’
The Broncos were out-enthused by the Dragons from the start.
Their line speed in defence was poor and in attack, apart from the magnificent Payne Haas, they were lethargic.
‘The way the game panned out, that’s definitely how it looked,’ Maguire said.
‘The commitment in areas of our game that we hold pretty high, we didn’t hit the mark.
‘Obviously there’s something there we as a group – myself and everyone – need to find very quickly, because there is a talented team there and we all know that.
‘That’s my role now with my senior leaders and everyone involved to find it.’
Returning from a six-week injury lay-off, Haas ran for more metres by halftime than the rest of the starting pack combined.
He finished with an incredible 281m with the ball and made 33 tackles with just one missed.
Haas is delivering on his words but most of his teammates must lift.
Aside from Haas and a strong second stint from Broncos forward Xavier Willison, Brisbane were outmuscled up front by a Dragons outfit that wanted it more.
Brisbane did lose Queensland forward Pat Carrigan to an ankle injury but they only started to play well when in the final 11 minutes when they were 30-8 behind.
The Broncos were the comeback kings of 2025 with their penchant for winning games from double-digit points deficits but they appear to be a side resting on that record and believing their own press.
‘We’ve got to continually work hard at training and try to change what’s going on at the moment,’ captain Adam Reynolds said.
‘Obviously we’re not getting the starts right, we’re not matching intensity at times and it’s not good enough.’
