Wally Lewis has urged Payne Haas to turn the other cheek in future altercations, saying three missteps in his young career was not serving the gun prop well.
Before video of a fight with teammate Albert Kelly surfaced over the weekend, he had twice before found himself in trouble with the game’s administrators.
In 2019, Haas was fined $20,000 and stood down for the first four games of the season by his club for refusing to co-operate with the NRL integrity unit.
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Then, in 2021, he copped a three-game ban and $50,000 fine after pleading guilty to intimidating police.
“I don’t think he’s going to get a lot of the general public on his side,” Lewis said on Wide World of Sports’ QLDER.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful to Payne, but he’s got to have a look at the cold, hard facts.”
Lewis said that the most recent incident could have been handled a lot better – and given their proximity to one another on a daily basis, Haas should have turned the other cheek to Kelly.
“Common sense has got to dictate in situations like these, especially with the professionalism that these players have gotten to,” he said.
The Origin legend rejected the idea of a culture problem at Brisbane in the traditional sense, saying instead that it was simply a matter of being smarter.
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“Culture is pretty much a cryptic word for common sense, you’ve got to have common sense.
“Surely these guys will realise that they’re in a position of power now where they’re dictating terms? Every time people turn their television on, it’s about the Broncos.
“If something goes wrong, they’re going to go into the headlines for all the wrong reasons. It’s a little bit of a shame but the players have also got to remember that they’re being very well-rewarded financially.”
NSW Police have launched an investigation into the video, while the Broncos and NRL have completed one but are yet to hand down any punishment.
Haas has been named to play for Brisbane this week.
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