Family of polarising footy star Payne Haas claims are misunderstood Gregor Joan assault NRL broncos

The father of Broncos superstar prop Payne Haas has spoken out about his personal life for the first time since his wife was jailed for a vicious assault at a Gold Coast casino.

Gregor Haas says his wife Joan, who was recently released for her crime, is committed to staying out of trouble now that she’s back in the family home.

Haas has also insisted that his family aren’t troublemakers, despite recent run-ins with the law, including his son Payne’s vile abuse of a female police officer last year.

Payne Haas (left) and father Gregor are pictured at the 2019 Dally M awards, where Haas took home prop of the year. Gregor has spoken out about his personal life for the first time since his wife was jailed for a vicious assault at a Gold Coast casino

‘It’s been up there with the toughest four weeks of our lives,’ Haas Snr told the Daily Telegraph.

‘Joan is back home now. She can’t go to certain venues, but she is back with us and it’s fantastic. We are back to normal as a family.

‘I can’t say too much about what she did (assaulting the security guards) because Joan has some strict conditions around her release, but all I can say is it’s happened and we don’t want it to happen again.

‘Look, life is life and you can never predict what it throws at you. You can only handle what life throws at you, but we certainly hope there’s no more trouble.’

Uiatu ‘Joan’ Taufua pleaded guilty to punching one security guard and spitting on another in an attack at the Star Casino on the Gold Coast in May

Haas (pictured playing for the Broncos) has had a torrid year on and off the field

Joan, 46, punched a security guard in the face and spat in another guard’s face during an altercation that magistrate Ron Kilner described as a ‘most vile and vulgar offence’.

In 2019, Joan was arrested after a savage attack on a delivery driver at a McDonald’s drive-thru. Magistrate Pamela Dowse slammed her ‘absolutely unforgivable behaviour’

Commenting on the view that the public sees his family as thugs, Haas said: ‘Look, people will have their opinions, but I know we’re not like that as a family.

‘I know we’ve made mistakes. I can’t sit here and pretend we’re perfect.

Haas with brother Chace, who tragically died in 2020 after unexpected respiratory failure

‘No family is perfect and we’re certainly not perfect.

‘I used to get annoyed at first about what people would say and think about us, but now I’m OK with it. It’s each to their own.

‘With social media, there is a lot more focus, particularly on someone like Payne who is an NRL player, but we love each other and that’s all that matters.

‘We’ve had our tough times as a family.

Haas (here pictured right) with his disabled brother Chace as a child. Chace was left wheelchair-bound by a car accident in 1999

‘The hardest thing we’ve had to live with is the judgement. We would walk down a shopping centre with Chace in a wheelchair and people stare. They would constantly stare.

‘People don’t see what Joan has had to do raising a disabled child for 20 years. She did everything, changing him, feeding him, all the medical appointments.

‘It’s not easy to raise a child with quadriplegia and Joan’s love for our kids is amazing.

‘I know Payne’s mum better than anyone and what people see in the media of her is not the full story.’

Haas demanded to be released by the Broncos this season, but has since withdrawn the request and will remain at Red Hill for now

Chace was the disabled brother of Payne who was left wheelchair-bound by a car accident in 1999. He died unexpectedly of respiratory failure in August 2020, aged just 21.

Joan’s stint behind bars was hard going on Gregor – with six kids still at school and the youngest being just seven.

‘It was very hard, it was the longest four weeks we’ve had as a family,’ he said.

‘Life wasn’t the same without Joan. I know people say bad things about her but Joan is my wife and I love her. And as a bloke, it was a good reminder of what the beautiful women do to keep the family unit running and husbands take it for granted.’