‘We call him Xavier Haas’: Broncos beast shows fangs
When Brisbane lost Thomas Flegler to the Dolphins, they needed a forward to step into the breach and Xavier Willison is proving to be that man.
Brisbane players are calling him “Xavier Haas”, and big bopper Xavier Willison is fresh from living up to the billing as he targets becoming a regular starting prop of elite quality.
Without the great Payne Haas and fellow State of Origin representative Pat Carrigan last week, 22-year-old Willison stepped up to play his most dominant game of NRL in a stunning 22-18 comeback win over Canterbury.
He now wants to back that up against Gold Coast on Sunday away where he has been named to start alongside Haas.
Fellow prop Corey Jensen has a blood clotting issue in his calf, which kept him out last week, and he is a week-to-week proposition to return to action.
That has opened another door for Willison, and he is doing a good job of bashing it right off its hinges.
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Willison ran for 203m, made four tackle busts and 43 tackles against the Bulldogs in his 46th and best NRL match.
At the end of the 2023 season the Broncos lost fiery Test and Queensland prop Thomas Flegler to the Dolphins. The club has wanted a front-rower to come through and provide the oomph to support Carrigan and Haas, and Willison is shaping up to be that player, as 68 minutes of fire and brimstone last Friday night revealed.
“I got that starting opportunity, so I really wanted to go out there and prove myself,” Willison said.
“It was more minutes and I just kept doing what I do usually … run hard and tackle hard. I just think that it was my time to step up.”
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His performances have won over fellow forward Kobe Hetherington.
“Xavier Haas we are calling him. He stood up and is killing it with his defence and carries,” Hetherington said.
“If he keeps playing like that he will be a wrecking force in the NRL. He’s just got to stay consistent. He is only young and it is scary to think where he can get to.”
Willison said he had been leaning on Haas over coffee, where he gets advice on when to run, the value of push supports and how to maximise his impact over the course of a match.
There is an old saying that “comparisons are odious”, but the reality is that Willison must step up on a regular basis if the Broncos are to challenge for a title to break a 19-year drought.
The last time the club made the decider in 2023 they had Haas, Carrigan and Flegler.
In 2006, the year of their last premiership, they had Petero Civoniceva, Shane Webcke, Brad Thorn, Tonie Carroll and company in beast mode.
Willison is looking no further ahead than the Titans on Sunday.
“It’s another chance to prove myself again and play some big minutes,” he said.
“I just have to play my game – what I have been doing – and try not to overthink it.”
