‘Not going to go over it’: Haas bristles at exit question as CEO admits Reynolds farewell ’learnings’

Payne Haas has refused to further explain his decision to walk out on the Broncos ahead of his last game while CEO Dave Donaghy claimed there were “many good things happening” at the embattled club.

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Donaghy fronted the media on Monday morning after a tumultuous week at Red Hill involving departing captain Adam Reynolds and his unsuccessful bid to have a farewell game in front of home fans.

Reynolds initially claimed coach Michael Maguire refused to pick him in last week’s team due to concerns over his fitness before backflipping 24 hours later and saying it was his decision alone to retire immediately.

Reynolds said there was “no rift” between himself and Maguire despite failing to mention the coach in his retirement speech.

The halfback was given an unenthusiastic send-off at Suncorp Stadium last week and fans were stunned when the big screen cut to a KIA sponsor promotion midway through his lap of honour.

Donaghy said the club wanted to make amends for the unprofessional send-off, calling it a “missed opportunity”.

“Sometimes as a sport you don’t get everything right and you don’t get the opportunities to have fairytale finishes,” he said.

“I think early in the week there was a lot of emotion flowing around. I think some of the communication of language could have been much clearer. Adam’s had an opportunity a couple of times during the course of the week to clarify that.

“Thursday was disappointing. We hired Suncorp Stadium and pay a lot of money to do so.

“For big screens to be out for 44 minutes, there was some challenges for the team to put a show back together. Unfortunately, we made some calls that we would love to have back again. I think there’s certainly lessons and learnings in that.”

Donaghy was also asked why Haas was leaving the club but refused to comment further on the decision.

“He’s wanted a change for a number of different reasons. I won’t step outside our conversations. If Payne wants to share them, I’m most happy for him to do so,” Donaghy said.

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Haas fronted the media moments later and was asked why he was leaving the glamour club.

“I think I’ve answered this lots of times and I’m not going to say it again. I’ve already said my part and that’s it,” Haas said.

“I’ve explained why I’m leaving, so I’m not going to go over it again.”

Earlier this year Haas said that his decision to leave Brisbane for South Sydney was driven by family and a desire to be closer to relatives in NSW.

Donaghy also said Thursday’s game against the Bulldogs was Haas’s last game in a Broncos jersey “for now at least”, leaving the door open to a return after his three-year deal ends at Souths.

“Payne’s not leaving here because he doesn’t enjoy the program, doesn’t like the club or doesn’t feel connected with the group,” Donaghy said.

“I’ll let Payne explain it if he wants to but his legacy is evident. He’s been an amazing contributor to our football club and hopefully, one day, we might see him back in Broncos colours.”

Haas refused to speculate about a possible Broncos return.

“I can’t tell the future, I’m just trying to be present,” he said.

Interestingly, when Haas was asked what he’d miss most about the Broncos, he only mentioned his teammates.

“I think just the boys to be honest. Obviously this club’s a very special club and we get looked after, but I think it’s more the connection with the boys and the way we get along,” he said.

Donaghy said Brisbane’s title defence, the worst since Wests ran last in 1953, hadn’t “met the mark” and a full review was happening, which was “standard operating practice”.

The footy side has won just seven games this season to sit in 15th spot on the ladder.

“I won’t go into the intricate details of the review, but the players have certainly been spoken to,” he said.

“This year hasn’t met the mark. We want to ensure that we understand as to why and put clear actions in place around how we’re actually going to build on them.

“There are many good things happening,”

Haas was asked if he had been spoken to as part of the review and bluntly said: “To be honest, no.”

Since 2018 the Broncos have sacked three coaches and club chairman Karl Morris has been vocal in his support of Maguire, saying he wants him to be a “long-term” coach at the club.

Maguire won a premiership at the Broncos last year which has naturally given him breathing space after a disaster of a season.

But the last review in 2024 led to the sacking of Kevin Walters only a year after he took Brisbane to the grand final.

Donaghy was asked if the club was going to extend Maguire in the off-season.

“We’ll have those discussions behind closed doors,” he said.

“I’ve always said I’d love for Madge to be a long-term coach.

“It’s certainly been a challenging year on many different fronts and there’s been some things that have been in our control and some things that have been outside of our control.

“We’ve fallen short of our standards and our targets and as CEO I accept responsibility for my share of that.”

Broncos stand-in captain Pat Carrigan addressed speculation that the footy team had let last year’s success get to their heads and they lost the hunger they had in 2025.

Even before they won the title in 2025, the Broncos players had a rock-star reputation in Brisbane.

“We’re all pretty grounded people. I think I’m lucky to be surrounded by guys like the person standing next to me (Haas) and each and every day we come to train and we earn what we get,” Carrigan said.

“It’s been disappointing. We faced our fair share of challenges, but at the end of the day our job is to perform and put ourselves in the picture to win premierships.

“We’re a united group and at the end of the day we’re all behind Madge and we’re behind the direction of the club.”

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