Ezra Mam’s defence exposed as South Sydney set to target Brisbane Broncos star

The Rabbitohs are remaining tight-lipped but coach Jason Demetriou has hinted at a game plan that will target who stats say is the weak link in the Broncos’ defensive line.

Brisbane Broncos star Ezra Mam.

Rabbitohs players have been warned “you’re an idiot” if you don’t run at Brisbane’s Ezra Mam as the Broncos star’s defensive deficiencies are laid bare.

South Sydney will ramp up the on-field pressure on Mam when they clash with Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night as both losing sides from their respective Round 1 NRL matches in Las Vegas desperately try to avoid slipping to an 0-2 start to the season.

Mam has been at the centre of a racism saga in the wake of Brisbane’s 20-10 defeat to the Sydney Roosters, after which prop Spencer Leniu was suspended for eight matches for calling the 21-year-old a ‘monkey’.

In that game the 85kg five-eighth missed eight of his 14 tackle attempts, two of which led to tries, providing a brutal blueprint for the Rabbitohs to follow on Thursday night at Suncorp Stadium.

It’s been an ominous trend for Mam, whose 100 missed tackles last year was second only to Canterbury hooker Reed Mahoney (123), who carries a far greater defensive role in the middle of the field for the Bulldogs.

Brisbane Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam misses a tackle in the 2024 Round 1 season opener against the Sydney Roosters as James Tedesco blasts through the defence in Vegas. Picture: Fox League

“If you know an opponent has a renowned defensive deficiency, if you don’t run at him, you’re an idiot,” former Souths international Mark Carroll said.

While reluctant to disclose his side’s tactics pre-game, Souths coach Jason Demetriou conceded: “Do you want me to tell you what we’re doing in the game? You know, there’s obviously areas in every team (to target).

“Ezra shoots out of the line a lot in yardage and tries to put shots on and bounces off so that puts his missed tackle count up higher than it probably is normally.

“There are areas we want to go to but I’m not going to say what that is.”

Former Brisbane five-eighth Ben Ikin admitted Mam would need to “work on defence his whole career.”

“Ezra is a smaller body so he is on the back foot from the get-go which means he will have to put that work in around decision-making and technique,” Ikin said.

“Coming from someone who liked the other side of the ball, probably the way Ezra does, defence for a playmaker wasn’t always a priority.

“Some guys who played halfback, five-eighth, were just naturally good defenders because they really enjoyed that side of the game but, for Ezra, it will have to be something he works on his whole career.

“I sense he has grown up as someone who just loves attacking football. We’ve seen Ezra, who isn’t that big, get himself in front of some big bodies. Fear clearly isn’t an issue for him, he doesn’t mind the contact.

“For Ezra, the challenge will be, and it will probably come with maturity, to apply as much concentration to the defensive part of the game that he does when he has the ball in hand.

Mam can’t stop Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad slipping through. Picture: Fox League

Mam misses more than four tackles per game, on average. Picture: Fox League

“To be fair, someone like Trevor Gillmeister didn’t get excited about putting blokes through gaps or scoring 40-metre tries, like Ezra would. What got ‘Gilly’ excited was his defence and if you get excited by defence, you are generally going to put more work into it during your preparation.

“I’m imagining when Ezra sits at home and gets excited about the game against the Rabbitohs, he is seeing himself scoring the matchwinning try.”

Mam defends on Brisbane’s left side and will come under heavy scrutiny by Souths’ right edge, both sides having lost their round one games in America.

Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs has the seventh most missed tackles over the past year with 82. Staggs is also known for rushing up out of the defensive line but nails his target more often than he misses.

Meanwhile, Demetriou said Souths fullback Latrell Mitchell has not been affected by criticism from former St George Illawarra five-eighth Anthony Mundine, where he said the Rabbitohs star’s on-field exploits hadn’t earned him the right to comment on Indigenous issues.

“I’m really happy where Latrell is at mentally and emotionally at the moment,” Demetriou said. “He knows what he’s about, he knows what he’s done and is excited to be playing footy and I’m looking forward to seeing him play this week.”

Originally published as Ezra Mam’s defence exposed as South Sydney set to target Brisbane Broncos star