Star prop fit, Broncos coach savours big incoming boost

Joel Gould | June 21, 2025

Brisbane welcome back their two best forwards from State of Origin and have other reasons to believe in a mid-season resurgence.

Any doubts over the availability of NSW prop Payne Haas, who played with a niggle in Perth, were dispelled by coach Michael Maguire ahead of Sunday’s home clash against fifth-placed Cronulla with the club insisting he had nothing more than a “tight hip”.

Haas and benched Queensland star Pat Carrigan sailed through Saturday’s final training session and will face the Sharks.

The Broncos’ spine is also taking shape as the one Maguire wanted at the start of the season, with five-eighth Ezra Mam and fullback Reece Walsh playing their first game together this year in a 44-14 win over Gold Coast before last week’s bye.

Veteran Ben Hunt’s return from a hamstring injury is also imminent and he will slot in at No.9 or No.14 to add more smarts to the spine.

The inclusion of Haas is a major lift for the seventh-positioned Broncos.

“He was a bit tight, but he is fine. He’s got nothing wrong with him,” Maguire said.

“(Haas and Carrigan) are very passionate about what they do here as well, so it’s nice to see them come back and get into all the recovery mechanisms they have now.

“They are ready to go, they are two machines.”

Walsh and Mam were lethal in the lead-up to the 2023 grand final and Maguire is heartened by what they can achieve with captain Adam Reynolds.

“It was the first time for quite some time where I’ve actually had Reecey and Ez play together,” Maguire said.

“You see Reece come in and every time the ball has been moved, you see Reece and Ezra together and then Reyno is the orchestrator of what’s going on.They add a lot to the team.

“Hunty is doing well (with his recovery). We have just got to make sure the old boy is one hundred per cent ready.

“That brings another dynamic.

“Any time I have seen success within an organisation is when you have got internal … pressure on to make sure you work hard every day.”

Hunt is aiming to be fit for either the round-17 clash with the Warriors or the following week away against Canterbury.

Representative centre Selwyn Cobbo will play for Wynnum Manly in the Queensland Cup, keeping pressure on all outside backs to perform. Cobbo is off-contract and at long odds to remain a Bronco in 2026 unless he is prepared to take a pay cut.

“Selwyn is aware what he needs to do at this present moment and that is the most important thing for him. Contract talks always sort themselves out by what you can do on the field, so he’s focused on that,” Maguire said.

“With the salary cap and trying to fit things in, I have inherited where things are at at the moment.

“So you’ve got to work your way through it and I know the organisation is doing that.

“(Josiah) Karapani has done a good job for us last week (on the wing) so he gets another opportunity. When you have someone like Selly sitting in the wings it keeps the focus pretty strong.”