Shattered Brisbane Broncos star Payne Haas breaks his silence on his mum being jailed for assault
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‘Shattered’ Broncos star Payne Haas breaks his silence on his mother being PRISON for assault and reveals he hasn’t been able to talk to her for weeks – after withdrawing from the World Cup for ‘personal reasons’
- Payne Haas’ mother jailed for assaulting casino guards on Gold Coast
- Broncos star, 22, said the sad episode has taken its toll on his close-knit family
- Haas also withdrew from the UK World Cup as a blow to Mal Meninga and Kangaroos
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Shattered Broncos prop Payne Haas has broken his silence after his mother was in prison for assaulting casino guards on the Gold Coast.
Haas, 22 – who this week told Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga that he will not play at the World Cup for personal reasons – also revealed that he has not spoken recently with his mother Uiatu ‘Joan’ Taufua, who will be released on October 1.
“I haven’t really been able to speak to her in the past few weeks,” Haas said.
“All I know is that my father was able to talk to her and apparently she’s cheerful at the moment.
‘Like everyone, if it was their own mother’ [that went to jail]you would be pretty devastated.
Broncos supporter Payne Haas has broken his silence around his mother who was in jail earlier this month for assaulting casino guards
Uiatu ‘Joan’ Taufua pleaded guilty to charges and will be released from prison on October 1
“It’s been tough, but I have my partner and my little brothers and they’ve been a great support to me. I’m pretty close to my mom and it sucks to see what happened.
“It’s been a rough couple of weeks (since the court ruling), but it’s happened and I have to move on.
“You love your family more than anything and you’ll do anything for them. My family is close, we do everything together and we are always there for each other… hopefully I’ll see her soon.”
Taufua was sentenced to nine months in prison on September 1 after assaulting security personnel at the Star Casino on the Gold Coast.
The term was suspended and Taufua will be released on October 1.
It wasn’t her first contact with the law after she was given a suspended sentence in May 2019 for a violent assault on the road in which she verbally and physically assaulted delivery man Keith Tyler.
Haas, 22, told Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga earlier this week that he will not play in the World Cup due to personal reasons
Keith Tyler was seriously injured when attacked by Uiatu ‘Joan’ Taufua in 2019
On that occasion, Taufua had two of her children in the car when she assaulted Tyler, who suffered serious facial injuries, including a fractured cheekbone, a hole in his lip and a deviated septum.
Her son – who was recently Brisbane’s Player of the Year for the fourth consecutive season – stated that family is more important than football when it comes to the World Cup in the UK.
“I just thought that right now, especially with my body and with all the things going on in my family, I should be at home as the older sibling,” he added.
‘I have to be there for my little brothers and guide them a bit. I thought that was more important than going to England and playing the World Cup.’
Meninga would pick Haas, and with Origin front rowers Junior Paulo and Josh Papali’i confirming their allegiance to Samoa, Australia seems light in the engine room.
People like Matt Lodge, Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Jake Trbojevic are being tipped off to fill the void.