Australian Kangaroos prop Payne Haas has caused a stir in the NRL community ahead of his side’s clash with Samoa in the Pacific Championships.
The Broncos star admitted he was considering deflecting to Samoa ahead of the tournament and dreams of one day playing for the nation of his heritage.
Haas’ comments come as he prepares for his first game with Australia since 2019 and has put more pressure on the NRL to tighten up its eligibility rules for international football.
SEN’s Andrew Voss admitted whilst he has no issue with players switching nations, he is disappointed in Haas’ comments whilst being selected for Australia.
“I’d like him to be all-in at this point, that’s me,” Voss said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“You’re 100 per cent committed, you’re not thinking about playing for another nation, you’re playing for your country.”
SEN’s and former Kangaroos star Greg Alexander agreed with Voss’ sentiment but acknowledged the rapid change of the international football landscape in recent years.
“The days are different, it’s a different world we live in, in terms of international footy, who else would you play for?” Alexander added.
“Now we’ve got players that can make that choice, we’ve got players who play Origin and play for other nations, they don’t play for Australia the landscape has changed.
“It’s unfortunate that Payne mentioned that one day he might play for Samoa but that’s the game we live in at the moment, that’s international footy.”
Alexander’s thoughts follow his proposal that all NRL players should declare international eligibility prior to the season starting.