NRL 2025: Ezra Mam checks out of rehab facility, Broncos five-eighth free to join pre-season training
Ezra Mam has checked out of his month-long stint in a Brisbane wellness facility, but it could be weeks until the embattled five-eighth returns to Red Hill.
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Brisbane five-eighth Ezra Mam has checked out of rehab but it will be weeks before he hits the training paddock as the embattled Broncos star begins the long mission to rebuild his NRL career.
Mam’s month-long stint in a Brisbane wellness facility following an alleged drug driving car crash is over after he returned home on Monday.
Mam has been formally charged by police with drug driving and driving unlicensed following a head-on collision with an Uber driver in Bardon on October 18. No pleas have been entered.
The male Uber driver was transporting a woman and her four-year-old daughter.
Mam entered the rehabilitation centre three days later and spent four weeks there at an estimated cost of more than $100,000.
Mam, 21, is technically free to join pre-season training with his Brisbane teammates given he has not been sanctioned by the NRL or issued with a No Fault Stand Down.
However he is unlikely to appear publicly at Red Hill before next year as he fights to save his $4 million Broncos contract.
Mam will face court in Brisbane on December 16 and the Broncos have given him time away from the field to deal with the situation.
Police have indicated the investigation into the incident is closed and Mam is not facing further charges.
The Broncos have a Christmas break from December 21 and Mam is not expected back for pre-season until the New Year.
The NRL integrity unit and Broncos bosses will watch the court outcome closely before determining what type of sanctions Mam may face on the footballing front.
The Broncos are bracing for Mam to be issued an NRL-imposed suspension of at least two months and significant fine from head office.
Mam’s Broncos teammates have been slogging it out under new coach Michael Maguire for the past fortnight as they look to bounce back from last season’s disappointing 12th-place finish.
Fullback Reece Walsh is one of Mam’s closest friends at Red Hill and said the team was supporting him.
“The first thing is just being there for Ezra,” he said.
“At the end of the day, he is a person and we have to make sure he is alright.
“He obviously has things he is dealing with and he has to get through it. But he is an awesome person and we love having him around the club.
“It’s obviously going to be a little bit weird without him for a little bit, but I know when he gets back, he will have a good mindset and he will work really hard to get himself back up.
“I look forward to seeing him soon and I hope he is in a good space.
“It’s a bit tough but things happen in life. We’re all people and we have to make sure everyone is alright.
“Footy is a job at the end of the day. First of all, it’s making sure the person is OK.”
The Broncos have begun assessing options to cover for the expected loss of Mam in the early part of the 2025 Premiership, meeting with Maroons and Kangaroos star Ben Hunt on the weekend.
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