Brisbane Broncos head coach Kevin Walters is expecting star prop Payne Haas to re-sign within the next few weeks.
That comes despite the fact Haas and his management have indicated they will test the free agency market from November 1, with the star prop's contract set to expire at the end of the 2024 season.
Walters has previously spoken out over his confidence of Haas re-signing, despite the fact a number of clubs are said to be interested.
Brisbane will likely need to spend in excess of a million dollars per season to retain the State of Origin representative prop, and Walters said he was expecting Haas' signature to be on paper in the next few weeks, despite something of a salary cap crunch being on at the club.
โWe expect to re-sign Payne within the next couple of weeks,โ Walters told Triple M's Sunday Sin Bin.
โThat's not something I'm managing, it's others in the club looking after that.
โWe're very confident we can maintain and keep Payne long-term at the club.
โHe is playing some of the best football of his career and is still only 23.
โWe've got a few other guys coming through like Ezra Mam, Reece Walsh, Selwyn Cobbo, Kotoni Staggs, Pat Carriganโฆwe expect to retain all of those guys and keep them here long-term.
โThat's how I see things. If we can provide a good, fun environment for them to come to work in, that's half the battle.
โI'm very confident we can hang on to all those guys we need to.โ
It comes after reports on Sunday suggested five-eighth Ezra Mam will be the next player out of the Brisbane system to test his value from November 1 ahead of his contract expiring at the end of 2024.
The Melbourne Storm have all but confirmed they will be interested in Haas, and could be the biggest player interested in the prop.
Haas and his management have made no secret that playing for a premiership will be a big part of the negotiation in Haas' next deal, potentially ruling out a number of clubs - such as the St George Illawarra Dragons - who have reportedly already expressed interest.
It's understood the preference for the star prop is to remain at the Broncos, despite that being less than a guarantee.
