Peter V’landys has lifted the lid on his meeting with Payne Haas as the Broncos star prepares to stay put in the NRL long-term.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the 25-year-old sat down with the boss of the ARL Commission recently in the midst of huge speculation regarding his future.
Haas had reportedly been offered a contract worth $3 million per season from rebel rugby union competition R360, with genuine fears he could leave the code
While those fears have been placed on the backburner since the announcement of the competition being delayed until 2028, that didn’t stop the game’s figurehead from travelling to Brisbane and meeting with one of the NRL’s best players.
V’landys was reportedly unhappy that his meeting with Haas became public knowledge, but was full of praise for the Brisbane, NSW and Samoa wrecking ball.
“All I will say is that I went into the meeting thinking that Payne was an impressive person. The only thing I got wrong was just how impressive he is,” he told the Herald.
“He really blew me away with his level of maturity and care for his loved ones. He is a beautiful human being.
“We’ve been fortunate to have him in rugby league and naturally I don’t want him going anywhere because his playing ability and character are essential to this game.”
V’landys also couldn’t resist the opportunity to take a swipe at R360 organisers.
“As I’ve said to all the players publicly, they need to be very careful about entering into any kind of deal to go to an unsanctioned competition, which is promising the world, but may deliver a trip to Victoria,” he said.
Two high-profile players, Zac Lomax and Ryan Papenhuyzen, were granted releases from their NRL contracts and were heavily linked with a move to R360.
Both players are now in career limbo, but V’landys has left the door ajar for their return.
“They were just victims of the mirage,” he told AAP.
“[It’s] no surprise. Their current business model was never going to work. It’s a shame so many people were hoodwinked.”
Papenhuyzen had one year left on his Melbourne Storm deal and is essentially free to sign with a rival club if he chooses, but Lomax had three years to go at Parramatta and can’t play for another NRL team as a condition of his release.
