Have the Broncos hit the jackpot with Haas-like prop?

Following a rare win for the Broncos last week, Denan Kemp has sung the praises of forward Xavier Willison, believing the club has found as close as it gets to the departing Payne Haas.

Having been a consistent player within the Broncos’ line-up across the last two seasons, the Kiwi representative has emerged as a vital player under Michael Maguire in their forward pack.

That importance was shown on Friday night.

With the Broncos up 34-30 in the final moments of the game, Ethan Strange broke through the defensive line and delivered a grubber kick with the hopes of Kaeo Weekes getting on the end of it to seal a victory in Josh Papalii’s last game at GIO Stadium.

The only thing stopping Weekes was Willison, who managed to chase after Canberra’s fullback, resulting in a knock-on by the Raiders as Brisbane just kept the ball out from the in-goal area.

That would be enough to seal the win, which have been few and far between for the reigning premiers who jumped to 15th on the ladder.

Off the back of their seventh win for the season, the former Broncos winger noted the club now has someone within their ranks with similar qualities to the club’s six-time Paul Morgan Medallist.

“If you looked at the odds of getting another guy that's similar to Payne Haas, now I'm not saying that he is Payne Haas or that he'll ever even reach the heights of Payne Haas,” Kemp said on SEN’s Saturday League Kick Off.

“But if you honestly looked at the odds, it would be like a million to 1.

“And somehow, some way the Broncos have found as close as you're gonna get to Payne Haas, and that's Xavier Willison.

“The game's on the line. I think he had an injury earlier; he's (24) years old, and he somehow, some way… even though Kaeo Weekes is chasing, and it looks for all money that that bounce is gonna (favour Weekes).

“Even if it doesn't favour Kaeo Weekes, he's so fast that you're assuming he's gonna get there.

“Then the one bounce that he needed, which was a tall, high bounce for his height. He nails it.

“And you know why he nails it? Just because he made the effort to get there. Cause he's there.

At this stage, the 24-year-old can speak to rival clubs from November 1 as his current contract concludes next season.

He does have a three-year contract extension offer in front of him. But Kemp admits he is getting nervous about the Broncos potentially losing another front rower.

“I'm getting more and more nervous by the day that he hasn't re-signed,” he continued.

“Now, all indications point that he will resign. Last time he got spoken to, he said he loves the club, it's his family, and it's looking like he'll re-sign.

“But I tell you what, on the open market, there would be big offers going his way.”

The Broncos host the Storm this Thursday in their second-to-last match for 2026.

SEN League will have live coverage of the match from 6pm AEST across our radio network and on the SEN app with NRL Countdown.