New details emerge as Ezra Mam set to escape further police charges in big boost for Broncos
The Brisbane five-eighth could be back in the NRL sooner than expected.
Ezra Mam could be back playing for Brisbane in the NRL earlier than initially expected after Queensland Police reportedly decided the Broncos five-eighth would not face any more charges over an alleged drug driving incident in October. Mam is set to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on December 16 charged with driving while a relevant drug was present in his blood and driving without a licence.
It stems from a head-on-crash with an Uber driver in the Brisbane suburb of Bardon last month that reportedly left the male driver with serious bruising and a four-year-old female passenger with a fractured hip. Police allege that Mam failed two separate tests for drugs and he was issued with a traffic fine for allegedly failing to maintain control of his car.
But the Courier Mail is reporting that he won't face any more charges after authorities wrapped up their investigation. “No further charges (are) expected, the investigation is now before the court,” a Queensland Police spokesperson told the publication.
The 21-year-old Broncos star checked himself into rehab after the crash and it's understood Mam's stint in the facility will cost around $100,000. Mam is also expected to be looking at a hefty fine from both the NRL integrity unit and the Broncos that could exceed $50,000, and he may have to pay for the damage to the other vehicle and relevant medical costs because he was allegedly driving without a license.
It had been widely reported that Mam could also be banned from the NRL for between two and three months, although the fact he is not facing more serious charges means the former is the more likely scenario. Before the 21-year-old was formally charged by police, there were suggestions his new five-year, $4 million deal could be torn up but Broncos coach Michael Maguire has come out to category rule out the possibility that Mam has played his last game for the club.
“No, he hasn’t," the Broncos coach told Brisbane radio station 4BC last week. “We are working through things and I am working through with the organisation around the whole situation. We need to make sure we are slow about our decisions because we have to see everything for what it is.
"It’s a big incident and it’s not taken lightly, but Ezra is working on himself and making sure he is going through his process. We will need to connect with everyone who has been involved in that accident.” Maguire says it's still too early to speculate on any potential sanctions for Mam but said the club would continue to support the young playmaker while the legal process plays out.
Maguire says the fact Mam checked himself into rehab and accepted his mistakes shows the 21-year-old has taken ownership of his actions. Maguire has touched on themes of ownership and responsibility several times already in his first weeks as Brisbane coach, as he looks to change the culture at the club and stamp his mark.
Michael Maguire says Broncos must learn from Ezra Mam saga
The veteran mentor described the Mam saga as a massive wake-up call for the whole club and says it's imperative they take important lessons from it moving forward. “Culture makes great organisations so we have to all take ownership for what’s going on,” Maguire added.
“Moving forward we will be steady and slow about our decision (on Mam) but we need to make sure as an organisation we take the incident and make sure we grow from that. That’s the last thing we want to be around, is something like that. We have to go through the process, the charges have come out and Ezra is working on himself.
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“It then goes to the NRL and they and the Broncos will deal with the situation. It will be what it will be, but we have to change where we have been as a club and use this moment in time to improve and build the culture on what we want it to be.”
After wrapping up his stint in rehab, Mam is not expected to link back up with his Brisbane teammates for pre-season training until the new year. It's understood he'll be allowed to continue training with the Broncos squad in the event of a likely ban from the NRL, which will probably rule him out of the first eight rounds of the 2025 season.
