Willison went from ‘spewing' to Broncos' saviour – and he had the perfect mentor
Since arriving at the Brisbane Broncos, the 22-year-old enforcer threatened to explode, but appeared unable to consistently piece together his skill, size and raw athleticism.
This year, that's all changed, thrusting him on course to becoming the long-term front-row partner to his mentor, Payne Haas.
'He's a good mentor. We go and get coffee and I just learn off him,' Willison said of Haas.
'He tells me when to run it or when to push supports, finding a good break, so I'm not constantly doing stuff and can get a breather every now and then.'
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After Broncos coach Michael Maguire experimented with Willison as an edge forward, the Kiwi product returned to the middle, producing career-best form in the past month.
Those performances culminated in a defining outing in the Broncos' comeback triumph over the Bulldogs, with his 203 running metres and 43 tackles during his 69-minute stint all the more impressive given Haas and Pat Carrigan were missing on State of Origin duty.
They were numbers that led teammate Kobe Hetherington to laugh 'Xavier Haas we're calling him'.
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