Why Ezra Mam was left out of the Broncos squad after returning from suspension

Brisbane star Ezra Mam had been due to make a return from suspension, but was not included in the side even though the Broncos are coming off a heavy loss to Penrith.

Brisbane Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam’s return to the NRL from a nine-match suspension for crashing his car with drugs in his system was delayed so the club could avoid the embarrassment of him playing during Women in League Round.

The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield made the revelation on his weekly podcast Off the Record, which he co-hosts with The Australian’s Andrew Webster.

Mam had head-on collision with an Uber on October 18 last year when he veered onto the wrong side of the road, injuring the driver, a female passenger and her young daughter, who suffered a fractured hip.

A Brisbane magistrate fined him $850 and disqualified him from driving for six months before the NRL suspended him for nine matches and slapped him with $120,000 fine.

He was tipped to make a return to coach Michael Maguire’s team for the Friday night clash with South Sydney at Accor Stadium. He will instead play for Souths-Logan Magpies on Sunday against the Western Clydesdales.

“It’s because it’s Women in League Round,” Rothfield said. “That’s the mail I’m getting. I made calls on Tuesday about whether he would be in the side. Some very good sources at the Broncos informed us that he was on an extended bench. That was 11am. Then the teams came out and he was nowhere to be seen.

Ezra Mam Brisbane Broncos training. Tuesday May 6, 2025. Picture, John Gass

“My information is there was internal pressure, with it being Women in League, that it wouldn’t be the right look. He also hadn’t played footy for a long time … When you consider a four-year-old girl was left with a fractured hip in that car incident. Her mum was in the car. She was badly shaken. He had cocaine in his system, he was unlicensed, he veered to the wrong side of the road.”

The NRL was heavily criticised for only suspending Mam for nine matches, as well as announcing the sanctions on Christmas Eve to avoid media scrutiny.

Webster called out the club and the NRL for making a decision that was best for their public image, claiming Mam’s suspension should have been much longer.

“He should have sat out the year,” Webster said. “I know that’s heavy but to make it one extra week than the Spencer Leniu suspension [was wrong] … There was more concern from that incident about Ezra’s welfare. What about the little girl? What about the mother? Where was the condemnation for what Ezra had done? Nine matches sent a terrible message. To not pick him for this round, because it’s Women in League, seems like a piss-weak move after making a piss-weak decision last year.”

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