‘It won't be a fast process’: Ezra Mam’s future remains up in the air as Michael Maguire faces tough questions on his first day at the Broncos

Michael Maguire was in the hot seat on his first official day as Broncos coach, with all the focus on Ezra Mam’s future and how he can fix the club’s culture.

New Broncos coach Michael Maguire conceded there’s no easy answers to what troubled playmaker Ezra Mam’s future looks like but vowed to worked with the young gun as a priority among a vast array of issues at the club

Maguire’s first official day in charge of Brisbane was supposed to be about planning for the 2025 season, and how to improve on what went wrong this year after his predecessor Kevin Walters was sacked.

But instead he was grilled about Mam’s future following the five-eighth’s car crash last week that has since seen him enter a rehabilitation facility.

Mam allegedly failed a roadside drug test last week following a car crash, with police alleging the 21-year-old was unlicensed while behind the wheel.

The incident is currently being investigated by the NRL integrity unit, with Mam checking himself into rehab on Monday with calls for his contract to be torn up given the allegations and the fact that a passenger in the other car was seriously injured.

Brisbane Broncos star Ezra Mam. Picture: NRL Images

“We haven’t spoken in depth (about termination) but we’ll gather all the information before making a decision ... it won’t be a fast process,” Broncos chief executive Dave Donaghy said on Wednesday.

“An incident like this involving integrity unit and RLPA, we’ll let them take their natural process and let it play out.”

Maguire says he wants to have one-on-one conversations with people at the club to help him find out all the details of how this could have happened, with the new coach unwilling to entertain whether Mam faces the sack.

“I’m not even going to touch on that,” the former Blues coach said, revealing he has spoken to Mam about the incident.

“I’ve got to go through everything. I’ve got to look where and how it got to that point, assess what’s going on and then understand him as well and understand the position that the organisation sits as well.

“The next couple of days, I’m going to spend getting a really good understanding of where the club’s at.

“I’ll find out the details (of the crash) as I go along. I’ve only just landed so I’m not going to talk about those (details) over the phone.

“I’ll definitely find out how one of our players gets to that point.”

Ezra Mam allegedly tested positive to a roadside drug test and was hospitalised after being involved in a car crash in Brisbane on Friday night. Picture: Supplied.

It’s hardly the welcome Maguire would have wanted, with he and Donaghy hoping that Mam receives the treatment he needs following a challenging 12 months that saw him star in a heartbreaking grand final loss to the Panthers last year, before the 2024 season started with him being racially abused by Spencer Leniu in Las Vegas.

“Ezra has acknowledged that there are some challenges that he’s facing and some challenges that he has faced,” Donaghy said, stressing Mam is a decent young man who had “lost his way”.

“I was pleased that he decided to seek the treatment and support that he clearly feels he needs.

“How long that takes, that’s a matter for relevant parties and Ezra to go through that. I think it was important that he took that step.”

The Mam incident is just one of the things Maguire must address with serious question marks over the club’s culture which saw them miss the finals having gone within a few minutes of winning the title last year.

Michael Maguire was forced to answer questions about Mam’s future on his first official day as Broncos coach. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Maguire is a strict disciplinarian who has enjoyed success with the Rabbitohs, Kiwis and Blues, but this could be his toughest test in trying to turn a talented squad into a hard-working group of men who boast plenty of untapped potential.

“I think every club has different situations going on inside, and I’ll assess that as I go,” he said.

“It’s well-documented that things have been going on, and I’ll address them as I see them.

“I’ve been around a number of players that have excelled consistently over long periods of time, and that takes a lifestyle choice to be able to do that.

“Whether you call that culture, it’s how we look after our supporters, deal with everyone every single day and it’s how we turn up to training.

“Those are the areas that I’ll be looking at over the next couple of days and we’ll work towards that as we move forward.”