Brisbane forward fined and suspended for four NRL games

Payne Haas has been fined $20,000 by Brisbane and banned for the first four games of the 2019 NRL season.

Broncos chief executive Paul White revealed the sanctions related to an incident involving the 19-year-old’s family, which is understood to involve violence and complaints from members of the public.

White said Haas had not committed any violent acts himself, or broken the law, but that he had no co-operated with the NRL integrity unit to a level expected by the club.

On suspending Haas, White said: “We are not happy with Payne’s level of co-operation with the integrity unit in relation to the matters involving his family.

“We have a duty to protect the reputation of our club and our game – and that is why we have handed down the significant sanctions that we have.

“He will miss the opening rounds of the competition and that is a heavy price to pay, but we see this as a mistake made by the young man and we are confident that Payne will learn his lesson.

“We do hope this sends a strong message that the values and integrity of everyone here at the Broncos is of utmost importance to our club.”

Haas will miss Brisbane’s games against Melbourne Storm, North Queensland Cowboys, St George Illawarra Dragons and Sydney Roosters.