Ezra Mam emerges as Dolphins' top target amid Broncos salary cap crunch
The NRL Grand Final hero is at the top of Wayne Bennett's wish list.
The Dolphins are cashed-up and Wayne Bennett has his set his sights on Brisbane’s grand final hero Ezra Mam as part of a $3 million recruitment drive. The NRL super coach has put Mam at the top of his wish list after the Broncos star was awarded the Dally M five-eighth of the year on the back of a stellar season.
Mam hit the open market for 2025 and beyond earlier this month and Bennett has confirmed the Dolphins are keen to lure him to Redcliffe. He is the latest Brisbane player that the Dolphins have targeted, after poaching Herbie Farnworth and Tom Flegler this year and Bennett has made nabbing Mam his top priority.
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“He was the best player on the ground in the grand final,” Bennett said. “If he comes onto the market, we would certainly be interested. We have four halves who can play there, but Ezra is a quality player. There is a lot of upside in him.
“For a guy like Ezra, there’s probably eight other clubs too who are keen, so it does become challenging to get a guy like that. But if he is available, we’ll be in the mix. We’ve signed three or four guys from the Broncos. I’m not looking at what club a guy is at, I’m just looking at whether a player has the qualities we need and Ezra can certainly add something to us.”
The Dolphins have the bulk of their foundation contracts expiring in the next two years, with 12 players coming off-contract at the end of the 2024 season, freeing up about $3 million in salary cap space. Dolphins CEO Terry Reader told The Courier Mail the club will look to strengthen its roster and Mam is at the top of their list of targets.
“We are always interested in quality players like Ezra that will add something to the Dolphins and have been deliberate in our recruitment strategy since day one,” Reader said. “We have signed three outstanding players in Tom Flegler, Herbie Farnworth and Jake Averillo for 2024 and beyond and we are very optimistic about the younger players in our squad, but also constantly looking to further improve our squad for the future.
“Our salary cap is in really good shape thanks to the patience we have shown in the recruitment market, and we are determined to make the Dolphins an even stronger team in years to come.”
Broncos confident they can keep Mam despite salary cap constraints
The Broncos are understood to be working hard to secure Mam's services and are confident he will commit to the club long-term. However, the Broncos are facing a salary cap issue due to the surge of young talent such as Reece Walsh and Mam who will command massive pay rises in their next contracts.
Last month, Broncos legend Wendell Sailor expressed his concerns about the big-money deals being handed out to the likes of Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan, with Walsh and Mam also negotiating new contracts. "I like Ezra but look, that's big dollars," he said. "I was just talking a couple of months ago about paying Reece Walsh a million dollars.
"So if you're paying him a million dollars, you're paying Payne Haas a million dollars... you're top heavy, something's gotta go."
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