Haas’ position in that list is certainly laughable compared to some of the players above him, but how much do we think he is really worth? I’d be interested to see how much people think we should pay for him.
It may be an unpopular opinion (especially since Haas is easily our best player), but I’m not sure he’s worth more than $700k, maybe $800k absolute max.
He’s EXTREMELY productive and makes huge metres, but there’s a lot of elements lacking in his game… he’s a lazy and poor defender (particularly close to the line), he lacks any sort of mongrel or leadership ability like always being there to take the hard hit up to steady the ship (like Webcke) and although he makes a lot of metres he rarely bends the line and creates opportunities for other middles through offloads or quick PTBs.
He’s still extremely young, so I hope we see him develop and work on some of these areas and grow into a top flight front rower (because god knows he has the talent and physical attributes to be one of the greatest of all time). I think some of this lack of development can also be placed on us for using him as a battering ram for 80 mins so consistently since coming into first grade. He has been lacklustre at best in his rep appearances and has achieved a great deal even with these shortcomings, but I don’t think he will ever be a really elite player unless he goes to the next level (same as Ponga).
I don’t think a defensively soft, metre-eating front rower is worth more than $800k / year, and at the moment that’s all Haas has shown that he is. I hope when it comes time to restructure he isn’t looking for a Fifita style payday, because if he is then I’d be inclined to let him go elsewhere.
