{"id":308132,"date":"2023-06-15T03:12:55","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T03:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=308132"},"modified":"2023-06-15T04:59:01","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T04:59:01","slug":"blues-stars-regret-after-horror-debut-for-best-mate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=308132","title":{"rendered":"Blues star's regret after horror debut for 'best mate'"},"content":{"rendered":"

Payne Haas<\/a> says he's got full confidence in former Broncos teammate Tevita Pangai Jr<\/a> returning to the Origin arena after he was axed by coach Brad Fittler<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The now-Bulldogs prop was no doubt disappointed in his performance from game one and ultimately didn't make the squad for the crucial Brisbane trip, dropped along with Nicho Hynes.<\/p>\n

Despite debutant Stefano Utoikamanu being preferred over Pangai Jr, Haas believes his one-time Broncos teammate will play in the Blues jersey again.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Kyrgios 'contemplated suicide' after loss<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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"God willing he gets back here, I've got all the confidence in the world in Tevita, he's one of my best mates, so if he's chosen again I know he'll do the job," Haas told Wide World of Sports.<\/p>\n

Haas – arguably the NRL's premier prop – will steel himself for one of the game's toughest tasks on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\"Tevita<\/p>\n

When the Blues head to Suncorp Stadium, aiming to save the series, they'll be entering enemy territory, but for Haas it's home in club land.<\/p>\n

However, the Broncos star has two definitive words when asked what reception he's received in a blue jersey since debuting in 2019.<\/p>\n

\ufeff"\ufeffNot good … but it fires you up a bit more and obviously they're pretty passionate up there, the Queenslanders, and it's not going to be a good reception for us," he said.<\/p>\n

"For them it's going to be pretty good, (but I) just can't wait for it."<\/p>\n

Watch the 2023 State of Origin series LIVE and exclusive on Channel 9 and<\/strong> 9Now<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Having burst onto the scene as a devastating prop capable of playing 80 minutes, Haas' role has changed significantly with experience, preferred in two stints by Broncos coach Kevin Walters, while NSW coach Fittler also used him that way in game one.<\/p>\n

With 11 games under his belt for the Blues, the prop probably hasn't quite hit the heights fans have seen from him in a Broncos jersey but with 16 runs for 133 metres in game one, he was still one of NSW's best.<\/p>\n

With all that considered, Haas declared game two is one of the biggest challenges\ufeff he's faced in the jersey.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffIt's a different beast, I know it's a bit different going up there to play for NSW so it's not like going to be playing at home getting cheered for, I just can't wait for it," he said.<\/p>\n

Stream the NRL premiership 2023 live and free on<\/strong> 9Now<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

"It's a pretty big challenge, it's one of the biggest challenges we've faced as a team since I've debuted to be honest and I just can't wait for it, I'm actually excited.<\/p>\n

\"Joey's<\/p>\n

"I honestly think this is the biggest one (challenge) to be honest, I just think this is the biggest test for us, our backs against the wall, going up to Queensland.<\/p>\n

"It's pretty hard to win, especially game two, so I'm sure it'll be a good game, be a lot of fireworks, and I just can't wait."<\/p>\n

The Broncos prop will also head to his home club ground, playing against regular teammates Patrick Carrigan, Tom Flegler and Reece Walsh, but admits there's no love lost once he crosses the white line.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffI think Patty says it the best, we're like brothers playing against each other in the backyard so it is what it is, they play for Queensland, I play for NSW, they're the opposition on Wednesday night," he said.<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Payne Haas says he's got full confidence in former Broncos teammate Tevita Pangai Jr returning to the Origin arena after he was axed by coach […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":308134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308132"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=308132"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":308137,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308132\/revisions\/308137"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/308134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=308132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=308132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=308132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}