‘I would be very surprised if Payne Haas is not playing here in 2025’: Broncos convinced Payne Haas will stay

Eels halfback Mitchell Moses will play his 150th game for the club on Friday night, but his coach is more concerned about Brisbane’s returning No.7 in a match Parramatta must win to keep their finals hopes alive.

Broncos playmaker Adam Reynolds is back on deck after missing last week’s win over North Queensland with groin tightness, and he’s out to replicate what he did in round 8 when he torched the Eels in Darwin.

Reynolds set up two tries and scored another in what’s been a magnificent season for the veteran halfback who has already recorded 23 try assists.

“He’s very good and he controls the game well for them off the back of their big forward pack,” Eels coach Brad Arthur said.

“Last time we played them, he contributed to all their tries whether they were with a kick or a run option, so he’s a big threat and we need to make sure we’re doing a good job on their middle to limit his opportunities.”

Reynolds isn’t the only player back for Brisbane, with edge forward Jordan Riki set to return from a foot injury, while strike centre Herbie Farnworth is good to go after hurting his knee last week.

This is Brisbane’s final game at the Gabba before they return to Suncorp Stadium in the final round of the regular season, with a win against Parramatta likely to seal a top-two finish given they’ve got a bye next week.

“Reyno is right to go which is great news for us and Jordan will be back on the right edge, he has earned that right,” Broncos coach Kevin Walters said.

“I don’t mind what other teams think about us, it’s more about us and what we think about ourselves and how we go about our work.

“We are 23 rounds in and we have played some good football. But we all recognise that there is some more to go in us and when we get to that point, we will let the competition know then.”

Brisbane’s hopes of going all the way this season rely heavily on superstar prop Payne Haas, who plays his 100th NRL game on Friday, but the milestone has been overshadowed by ongoing talks about his future.

The Broncos offered the Origin prop a huge deal that was knocked back, but the club is confident they can re-sign the 23-year-old before he hits the open market on November 1.

“Our guys are working hard in that space. I would be very surprised if Payne Haas is not playing here in 2025 and beyond. We feel he belongs here,” Walters said.

“We are a big club and we accommodate lots of different players and personalities. Payne fits the bill here.”

The returning Reynolds will be out to spoil Moses’ milestone match, with Arthur adamant the occasion won’t be a distraction for his players.

The Eels coach is more concerned about banking two vital competition points, with Moses and halves partner Dylan Brown needing to produce their best if last year’s grand finalists are to pull off the upset.

Brown returned from a seven-game suspension last week and was solid in the scratchy win over the Dragons, but Arthur wants to see more from his five-eighth in attack with Parramatta’s season on the line.

“I thought Dyl was defensively very good for us,” he said.

“You can see the effort that he puts into his defence because he saves a lot of tries for us.

“He didn’t do a great deal with the footy (last week), but I thought his effort was there in defence and he’ll be better for the run because he blew out a bit.

“The combination at times was a bit rusty between him and Mitch, but we saw at the back-end when we got more ball and time together that they got better.

“A bit more time together and I think they’ll click.”