The Broncos have resisted the urge to pick Ezra Mam in first grade this weekend despite the completion of his nine-game suspension, and one expert believes it could be due to some jarring scenes out of Magic Round.
Mam will run out for Souths Logan in the QLD Cup over the weekend instead of lining up for the Broncos against Souths on Friday night, which veteran journalist Paul Crawley labelled “the first wise decision of this whole sorry saga”.
“No one wants to see a young man rubbed out forever for a mistake but it was a pretty bad mistake that he made and most fans would agree the suspension wasn’t near enough,” Crawley said.
Watch your team in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership. Stream every round LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play, on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.
“I think the NRL stands for something and I don’t think this one stacks up to other suspensions for off-field misdemeanours.”
The Broncos playmaker is available for the first time this season after serving a nine-game suspension stemming from a car crash he was involved in on October 18.
According to The Daily Telegraph’s Dean Ritchie, the Broncos may have decided to keep Mam out of the spotlight for one more week after a chorus of boos rained down on the five-eighth when his face flashed up on the Suncorp Stadium big screen during the Broncos’ loss to Penrith.
“I think the Broncos were a little shocked, albeit it was Magic Round and there were a lot of fans from rival clubs in the crowd, but I was surprised at the ferocity of the jeers that Ezra Mam copped and I think it was a jolt to Brisbane,” Ritchie said.
“Maybe in the bubble up there they didn’t realise how on the nose this bloke is.”
NRL360 co-host Braith Anasta agreed with Ritchie.
“I was taken aback by it at the ground. I looked at the big screen and I was like ‘woah’. I did not expect that reaction,” he said.
Roosters open door for early Young exit | 00:33
MORE NRL NEWS
EVERY CLUB’S RECRUITS RATED: Underdogs get top marks, heavyweights fall flat
RESERVES WRAP: Ilias incredible, Fifita invisible after axe; dropped Rooster shines
‘PINCHING HIM’: Matty’s warning over ‘special’ Knights star amid Brown’s $13m deal
Ben Hunt has done a sound enough job at five-eighth in Mam’s absence, but could move to hooker to accommodate Mam.
If the Broncos win this weekend though, will Broncos coach Michael Maguire keep things the way they are and leave Mam in the reserves?
Crawley thinks the Broncos are better off with Mam in the line-up.
“Going back a couple of years, he was 20 minutes off a Clive Churchill Medal in a grand final,” he said.
“Walsh is missing Mam and the connection they have. I have no doubt in the world that they will be a better team with Mam at six.
Discussion about this post