Crowd booing says it all as Broncos face backlash

The brutal reaction from fans at Suncorp Stadium shows the Broncos are facing serious issues with star playmaker Ezra Mam.

Broncos coach Michael Maguire said he would “enjoy” learning about his side following their thumping 32-8 loss to Penrith on Sunday before declaring exiled playmaker Ezra Mam is “ready to play”.

Brisbane went from beating the top-of-the-table Bulldogs to losing to the bottom-placed Panthers in the space of a week.

They won four of their opening five games but now have lost three of their past four as they struggle for consistency under new coach Maguire.

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But the 2023 Dally M Five-Eighth of the Year Mam is available for selection this week following his nine-game suspension

Mam, who was in attendance at Suncorp Stadium, was loudly booed by the crowd when his face flashed up on the screen on Sunday night.

It was not clear if this response was from Broncos or Panthers fans.

Regardless, Mam will likely slot straight back into the starting side, with Ben Hunt shifting to hooker and Billy Walters to the bench, for the Broncos’ clash against the Rabbitohs next Friday.

“Yeah he’ll be ready to play, if he’s called upon,” Maguire said.

“He’s worked really hard in the background and I guess until you’re actually playing games you can’t qualify in that but he’s done everything he possibly can to give himself the opportunity to come into selection.

“I talk to my leaders all the time about how the team looks and what we’re doing and moving towards.”

Ezra Mam was booed byvthe crowd at Magic Round

But Queensland legend Cameron Smith urged Maguire to bring Mam back through reserve grade.

“I feel like Ezra would be a little bit short of a run,” Smith said on WWOS.

“It’s a big ask... to throw him straight back into the NRL in round 10 where all the players playing now since round one, they are match hardened, this is as fit as you’ll be for the entire season.

“I would probably give him a week or maybe two to get his timing right, get his confidence back and then throw him in the team. There’s not a shadow of a doubt he’s in their best 17.”

Brisbane were ripped to shreds by Panthers superstar halfback Nathan Cleary but Maguire said he’d “enjoy” learning from the loss.

“It’s never nice losing like that,” Maguire said.

“We had an opposition which turned the screws on us.

“He (Cleary) has got that in him, doesn’t he and it’s this time of year (State of Origin) where those players start to rise. Credit to him, he played a good game.

“They built pressure and unfortunately we didn’t capitalise when we had the pressure on, we need to be better there.

“But as a coach I got a lot out of that game, just understanding the players and what we need to do better.

“The points we had scored against us, I’ll enjoy learning about us as a team (from it). I learned a lot about the team, myself, everything tonight. It’s not nice losing but I’ll get a fair bit out of this one.”

Originally published as Crowd booing says it all as Broncos face backlash