NRL grand final: Inside the weird and wonderful world of Brisbane Broncos star Ezra Mam
Ezra Mam calls himself a “weirdo”, but the Brisbane Broncos five-eighth has become one of the NRL’s hottest playmakers. See what makes him unique.
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Pet snakes and painted nails – welcome to the world of self-confessed Broncos “weirdo” Ezra Mam.
Mam has become one of the NRL’s hottest playmakers ahead of his grand final debut against Penrith at Accor Stadium on Sunday night.
Mam, 20, was crowned Dally M five-eighth of the year on Wednesday night in just his second season in the NRL and will attract enormous interest if he hits the open market on November 1.
He may only be 37 games into a blossoming NRL career, but Mam has already become one of the game’s most exciting No. 6s with his instinctive brilliance.
And Mam’s flamboyance isn’t restricted to the footy field.
Away from the bright lights of the NRL, the Indigenous marvel marches to the beat of his own drum.
Whether it’s rocking a ‘Mam-dana’ at training or wearing a skivvy to Brisbane’s presentation night last year, Mam has a unique style in the rugby league world.
He regularly has his nails painted and said he likes to do what makes him happy – even if he cops it from his teammates.
“I’m pretty much a weirdo,” Mam said when asked about his personality.
“Some of the boys don’t know what goes through my head. They always give me shit.
“I just like doing my own thing. We all do our own things. Who knows?
“I went out with my sister one time and we got our nails done, so I get them done every now and then.
“It’s something to do with the boys (Reece Walsh also paints his). Sometimes we hang out with each other and do it.
“I’ve got two pet snakes as well – Burner and Bunker – a couple of pythons. They’re pretty cool.”
Mam joined Brisbane’s development system as a 13-year-old and slowly chipped away at his NRL dream.
He was crowned the Queensland Cup’s rookie of the year in 2021 and then claimed the equivalent at the Broncos last year after playing 13 games in his debut NRL season.
With another pre-season under his belt, and halfback Adam Reynolds by his side, Mam hit the ground running this year.
He has played all but two games in Brisbane’s grand final charge and has the opportunity to win a premiership in his first full season in the top grade.
“I never thought I would be playing a grand final so young,” Mam said.
“I just thought enjoy footy and if it comes it comes, but I’m excited now that this has come and I want to make sure I’m ready for it.
“We will respect Penrith as a good side but for us it’s about doing our job and playing Broncos footy. We will use that as motivation to get over the top of them.
“I think we have pretty good momentum going forward. We put ourselves in this position and what we have been doing is working. We just have to stick at it and keep doing our jobs.
“There’s definitely no fear, we respect them as a good side but I’m confident in our footy.”
After he goes toe-to-toe with Panthers five-eighth Jarome Luai, Mam will turn his attention to securing his future.
His desire is to remain at the Broncos beyond the 2024 season after Brisbane gave him a shot at the NRL and he hopes to one day wear the club’s famous No. 7 jersey.
“This is the first club that reached out to me and I have been here since I was 13 in their development program,” Mam said.
“I would love to stay here and I am focused on this year to get my job done and let my footy do the talking.
“Last year I came into the NRL fresh and I sat back and I was a passenger, so I wanted to make a change this year and help all the boys around me and bring my best football this year.
“Being around the boys has made me more confident. They have put trust in me and have made me a lot more focused to nail my role and also doing a bit extra for the team. I’m definitely loving my footy and playing well for the team.
“I would love to become a seven here. I have to develop my game management a bit, but I am learning off ‘Reyno’ every week and he has been a great mentor for me.
“I want to play seven eventually, but right now, while Adam is there, he is making my job easy as a six. Eventually, I would like to steer the team around as I got older.”
MAM HAS THAT TOUCH OF MARSHALL MAGIC
Former Queensland Origin playmaker Scott Prince says Ezra Mam has the Benji Marshall-like brilliance that can inspire a Brisbane boilover in Sunday night’s grand final against Penrith.
Prince’s glowing assessment came as Broncos coach Kevin Walters hailed boom five-eighth Mam as the X-factor with the magical touch to bring Penrith’s title dynasty crashing down at Accor Stadium.
Still only 20, Mam faces the most daunting test of his career when the 37-game rookie goes toe-to-toe with Penrith’s five-eighth champion Jarome Luai before 80,000 fans at Homebush.
The parallels between Mam and one-time Wests Tigers whiz-kid Marshall are eerie.
Marshall was also just 20 when he inspired Wests Tigers’ 2005 fairytale premiership victory against the Cowboys with the magical flick pass that still resonates two decades later.
Marshall went into that NRL grand final with 15 tries from 26 games, while Mam has 15 four-pointers from 24 matches when he runs onto the very Homebush turf Benji once turned into his personal playground.
Prince was Marshall’s scrumbase partner in the Tigers’ epic charge to the joint-venture club’s only premiership and the halfback legend believes Mam has the Benji-style confidence to shock the Panthers.
Asked if he sees shades of Marshall in Mam, 300-game great Prince, now Brisbane’s NRLW coach, said: “Yeah I do.
“Thankfully I think Ezra can tackle better than Benji and I.
“That’s a good thing for him, he is not afraid to put his shoulder in and get involved in terms of the defensive end.
“But he certainly has the flair and that attacking ability to score points and dictate terms.
“He is in good form at the moment and hopefully he continues that, he has a long future in the game.”
Marshall’s freewheeling style, notwithstanding the odd high-risk blunder, underpinned Wests Tigers’ charge to the 2005 decider and Prince says Mam also possesses the free spirit to play what he sees.
“That’s a good thing about him, that’s his youth,” Prince said.
“There’s a bit of carefree factor (in Mam’s game).
“It can be a negative when you are (trying to attack) from a scrum.
“I remember Benji used to do his little play and he once hit the girl in row three from a scrum (with a long pass). I can tell you the forwards weren’t happy.
“That (playing with control) is something Ezra needs to learn but he has an old head on his shoulders.
“He understands when to complete the next set and when to be patient and know when to put the flair in and when to put it away when the team needs it.”
Walters challenged Penrith to target Mam, saying the pint-sized pivot has the toughness in defence to match his talent in attack.
“Ezra certainly has that X-factor,” Walters said.
“He has sharpened the pencil right up with his defence and that’s been the big improvement in his game this season.
“He’s developed confidence out of big blokes coming at him and not just stopping them, but knocking them over physically.
“That has been the big change in his game.
“They will be coming at him again on Sunday night but he will be up for it, I know that.”
Prince remembers the Tigers playing with unshackled confidence and he backed playmaking trio Mam, Reece Walsh and Adam Reynolds to ignite Brisbane’s offence as Brisbane chase their first title since 2006.
“They are playing confidently,” he said.
“It looks like they are enjoying themselves, but more importantly it looks like everyone knows their role in the team and they are executing it quite well.
“When you are able to do that and enjoy your football, when you have guys like Reece Walsh and Adam Reynolds taking turns as far as kicking and directing the team around, anything is possible.
“That’s what winning does, it breeds confidence and brings self-belief.
“There is a real good blend of youth and experienced players, I personally love watching them play and they will be hard to beat when they are on.
“I wish them the best and hopefully they can get the job done.”
ARTHARS PRAISES SELFLESS COREY OATES
Jesse Arthars has lauded wing rival Corey Oates for remaining “an open book’’ to him even though he has ripped the final page from veteran’s grand final fairytale.
Arthars, the widely travelled journeyman who has found a home at the Broncos, has been retained for the grand final at the expense of 10-year, 201-match flanker Oates who is 18th man.
It was no surprise given coach Kevin Walters plumped for Arthars ahead of Oates for the finals series but it is still a hugely significant call given Oates’ big match pedigree which includes nine State of Origin games.
“He’s a massive part of this club,’’ Arthars said of Oates.
“He’s been there for a long time. We’re really good mates. He’s helped me out a lot. Kevvie has chosen me and obviously I want to do the best job for myself and the team.
“Oatesy has been an open book to me. He has helped me out on the run. He has a lot more experienced to me and is someone I am really grateful to have around. We are all trying to make each other better.’’
The pain on missing the match will be understandably acute for Oates given he played in the 2015 grand final where the Broncos famously lost in extra time to the Cowboys.
Widely travelled Arthars is one of the Broncos understated success stories this season, playing a career high 19 games in a journey which saw him pass through the Melbourne, Souths and Titans systems.
In late 2021 the Broncos resigned him on a fresh deal then sent him off the Warriors in a novel move which could have undermined his confidence but actually enhanced it as he played 12 games for the Warriors.
“I had resigned for two years and then before I came back to pre-season, I was gone on loan. So obviously it was a weird situation but it worked out well because it helped me gain experience. I have come back with a lot more confidence.’’
BRONCOS BUILDING A HOMEGROWN DYNASTY
Adam Reynolds says the Broncos are primed to build a title dynasty as Brisbane look to emulate Penrith’s homegrown premiership heroes by grooming a golden generation of local talents.
A carefully constructed ‘Backyard Blitz’ has rebuilt the Broncos as an NRL force, with a staggering 14 of Brisbane’s 17-man squad having come through as grassroots products to play in Sunday’s grand final against Penrith.
The Panthers have become the top dogs of the NRL on the back of locally-sourced quality produce.
In their grand-final defeat of Parramatta last October which sealed back-to-back titles, 11 of Penrith’s starting 13 came through the Panthers system, headlined by Nathan Cleary, Jarome Luai, Brian To’o, Dylan Edwards and Stephen Crichton.
It reinforced the rugby league mantra that homegrown works best. Developing premierships – not buying them – has stood the test of time in the NRL.
And the Broncos have adopted an identical methodology in their emphatic transformation from wooden spooners to grand finalists in just three years.
Brisbane’s rejuvenation is on the back of Origin and Test stars Payne Haas, Reece Walsh, Pat Carrigan, Selwyn Cobbo, Tom Flegler, Kotoni Staggs, Kurt Capewell and Herbie Farnworth, who all cut their teeth in Brisbane’s Academy or former under-20s outfits.
Then there’s forwards Kobe Hetherington, Keenan Palasia, Jordan Riki, Tyson Smoothy and Brendan Piakura, plus five-eighth sensation Ezra Mam, who hails from Ipswich – the very region that produced Broncos legends Allan Langer and Kevin Walters.
Skipper Reynolds is one of the few ‘outsiders’. The champion halfback joined Brisbane last year from South Sydney and he has been blown away by Brisbane’s football program, saying the Broncos have developed a special batch to not only terminate Penrith’s title dynasty, but create their own.
“I’m not saying it’s like Penrith but we’re in a similar situation as Penrith,” Reynolds said.
“We have young great kids coming through and there’s a lot of players here who have played 40 or 50 NRL games that are going to go on and get better.
“We just have to keep this squad together.
“Our goal is to keep challenging for titles year in, year out.
“I don’t see why we can’t do that as a club with the youth and the programs the club has set in place.
“The Broncos are now set up for long-term success.”
Just three players in Brisbane’s grand-final team did not progress via the Broncos system. They are Reynolds, winger Jesse Arthars and, ironically, Billy Walters, the son of Broncos coach Kevin, who made his NRL debut at the Storm after plying his trade with Melbourne’s feeder-club Brisbane Tigers in the Queensland Cup.
History shows homegrown talent delivers premiership strength and sustainability.
The Dragons’ record reign between 1956-66 was driven by St George juniors. Parramatta’s ‘Three-Peat’ in 1981-83 was underpinned by Peter Sterling, Brett Kenny, Steve Ella and Eric Grothe. The Johns brothers, Andrew and Matthew, inspired Newcastle’s epic ARL triumph in 1997.
Of course, there’s Penrith’s locally-inspired juggernaut, and now, the ‘Baby Broncos’, who go into Sunday’s grand final as the youngest team of this year’s final series with an average age of 24.9 years.
Coach Walters knows Brisbane’s premiership window is well and truly wide open thanks to the club’s best batch in 30 years.
“We’re aiming for these kids to win another premiership for the Broncos,” Walters said.
“We’re seeing the success Penrith have had with their local juniors and it’s been a fair while since a Broncos player became a 300-gamer. Corey Parker and Sam Thaiday were the last two.
“We’re a club steeped in history and I’d love to see this batch of guys stay loyal and become 200 and 300-gamers for the Broncos.
“This group has the potential to do something special for the Broncos.
“We’ve seen the Penrith model and the Storm model work in terms of bringing through a group of players together with an attachment to those clubs.
“The combinations and connections those clubs have developed is invaluable and in critical times in games – and big games – in the NRL, those local connections shine through.
“For one reason or another, we haven’t been able to win a premiership since 2006.
“But one of my mantras coming back here was to unify the Broncos, to develop that next generation with a feel for the club.
“To now have so many guys who have come through our program shows we are on the right track.”
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