Grieving NSW prop Payne Haas will use his brief time outside a COVID bubble to spend much-needed time with his family.
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The Brisbane powerhouse's brother Chace died in August after a short illness, leaving the 20-year-old devastated.
Suspended at the time of Chace's death, Haas was then granted compassionate leave and missed the team's NRL round-19 loss to Parramatta before returning for the final match of the campaign against North Queensland.
Despite his personal loss, Haas remained one of Brisbane's shining lights in their dismal season and his efforts were rewarded on Wednesday when he was named joint winner of the 2020 Paul Morgan Medal alongside Pat Carrigan.
It is the second year in a row Haas has claimed the honour as the Broncos' best player.
Having been in the club's bubble for most of the year to meet NRL biosecurity protocols, Haas will have to go back into another lockdown next month ahead of the State of Origin series in November.
One of the players already confirmed by coach Brad Fittler in NSW's 27-man Origin squad, Haas is expected to go back under restrictions from October 19.
For now though, he is focused on using his time to support and be supported by his family as they deal with Chace's death.
"I haven't got to spend that much time with my family, obviously what's been happening with them, and I just want to spend some time with them and my girlfriend and just hopefully enjoy it while I can," Haas said.
"It was tough as everyone knows, I had some personal stuff going on and especially my brother.
"People know how special my brother is to me and how much he meant to me and it was pretty hard for me to get up for games but I knew I wanted to turn up for the boys especially."
Australian Associated Press
