Payne Haas and his dad open up about the tragic death of NRL star’s brother Chace

Blues big man Payne Haas and his father Gregor have spoken out about the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of the NRL star’s disabled brother Chace – who has been laid to rest in a golden mausoleum at the family’s Gold Coast hinterland property.

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

Gregor, who has now spoken about the details of his son’s death for the first time, says Chace was the heart of the Haas family.

‘Chace was incredible like that. He always made people happy and he never whinged about his circumstances. He really was an amazing person. He was the inspiration of our family,’ 

‘It’s still hard to talk about losing Chace, it’s weird that he is gone,’ Haas’ father told the Daily Telegraph.

‘Even now as I talk, it hurts. We still cry about losing him. Every day we go into his mausoleum and visit him, but these days we try to think about the good things about his life more.

Payne Haas and father Gregor are pictured at the 2019 Dally M awards, where Haas took home prop of the year

‘Your kids are supposed to bury you … not the other way around.’

After a nightmare with paperwork that spanned near 12 months with legal teams and the Gold Coast council, the family got approval to lay Chace to rest at their seven-hectare property.

Inspired by Chace’s love for Egyptian history and the Spartans, the family built an extraordinary mausoleum, that houses Chace’s body in a gold-plated coffin, which lies beside religious inscriptions plus a tribute to his Samoan heritage.

‘Chace used to say to me he bleeds blue, so we had to have a NSW scarf over the top of his coffin,’ Gregor said.

‘All the criticism of our family took a toll. It’s not easy to read and hear things about yourself on the news, but we’ve come to accept to knowing we love each other as a family and we stick together.’ 

Haas pictured (right) with brother Chace as a child, who he now pays tribute to with a leg tattoo and family mausoleum 

Payne’s mother was pregnant with him at the time of Chace’s accident and the star was named ‘Payne Lucky Haas’ after the pain and fortune that the family endured after the collision. 

The 118kg Broncos prop says running out in the Blues jersey reminds him even more of Chace.

‘Whenever I put on this jersey I think about him a bit more just because of how much he loved State of Origin and how much he loved the Blues,’ Haas said. 

‘People say it gets easier but it hasn’t really gotten easier, to be honest. I have a daughter now and I wish she got to meet Chace.’

Payne Haas in action at Blues camp training preparing for game one in Sydney on June 8 – it will be his eighth NSW appearance

The mausoleum stands tall next to the lavish family pool, with the phrase ‘ALEFA MA LE OMEKA’ written in thick gold on the awning of the structure, which means ‘alpha and omega’ in Samoan. 

The 2021 Dally M prop of the year has a tattoo of Chace’s name written on his left leg. 

On June 8, Haas will run out for his eighth Blues cap in game one of the State of Origin series.