Spencer Leniu-Ezra Mam: Fresh details emerge about the saga that rocked the NRL

It started with an on-field slur in Las Vegas and ended with an admission of guilt in Sydney. BRENT READ reveals fresh details of the Spencer Leniu-Ezra Mam saga that rocked the NRL.

Spencer Leniu. Picture: NRL Photos

The siren had only just sounded on the second game of the NRL’s historic double header in Las Vegas when Spencer Leniu slipped on a pair of headphones and uttered a line that would shadow him for the next week.

Leniu, having been accused only moments earlier of calling Brisbane five-eighth Ezra Mam a “monkey”, was given the chance to clear the air on Sydney radio station Triple M.

No doubt, he was wrestling with mixed emotions. On one hand, he had just enjoyed his first win in a Roosters jersey. On the other, he had been accused of a reviled act that threatened to overshadow a satisfying win.

Leniu couldn’t help himself. “It’s all just fun and games on the field, that’s it,” Leniu replied. Those comments would follow Leniu in coming days as he became a target, not just for opposition fans, but for some of the biggest names in the game.

THE NIGHT

Leniu was one of the Roosters biggest signings in the off-season, having been plucked from premiers Penrith to prepare for life after Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.

The plan was to give him a season alongside JWH and then hand the reins to the former Panthers firebrand. It was a like-for-like replacement in many respects.

Leniu and Waerea-Hargreaves are similar characters in the way they played the game, walking a fine line that they both occasionally crossed.

A switch goes off in both when the siren sounds. It is a battle Waerea-Hargreaves has wrestled with his entire career and Leniu looks to be heading down the same path.

There were moments during the game against the Broncos when he looked to be spoiling for a fight. After the Broncos scored a try in the second half, a restless Leniu was warming up on the sideline waiting for a return to the action.

Spencer Leniu speaks with Brent Read after the round 1 game. Picture: Triple M

Spencer Leniu continues his exchange with Broncos players from the sidelines. Picture: NRL Photos

Brisbane back rower Jordan Riki was within earshot, having returned to his position while waiting for the Roosters to kick off. Leniu couldn’t help himself.

He and Riki started exchanging words. Not long after that, Leniu was back in the action and found himself in an incident that sparked a melee between the sides.

No prizes for guessing who was the Brisbane player involved - Riki. That incident, mind you, paled in comparison to the exchange with Mam.

The Roosters were no doubt attracted to Leniu because he brings some fire and brimstone in his kit bag. He can be devastating at times but he can also let himself down.

It is a balancing act he is still learning to control.

THE AFTERMATH

By the time Leniu boarded the team bus for the Roosters’ hotel in Las Vegas, social media was frothing and the front rower was said to be fuming.

Punters were lining up to skewer Leniu. Away from the field, he is friendly and articulate. Journalists who spent a week with him in Las Vegas late last year while on a promotional tour with the NRL came home raving about Leniu.

His behaviour, however, on the field speaks to a different person and makes him a target for opposition fans. On this occasion, he had given them all the ammunition they needed.

Leniu, meanwhile, wanted a piece of Mam because, according to those with knowledge of the incident and its aftermath, he felt that it should have been left on the field.

By the time he and his teammates got back to Resorts World, where the teams were staying, Leniu was seething.

In hindsight, the NRL’s decision to place the team rooms on the same floor was a lapse in judgement and contributed to Leniu and Mam bumping into each other in the hours after the game.

Mam’s teammates Patrick Carrigan and Kotoni Staggs were also involved in a verbal exchange that was only defused by the Roosters media manager.

At that point, Leniu appeared to have little sympathy for Mam, who was said to be in tears as he made his way off the field. Leniu’s only motivation was revenge.

That was about to change.

THE RETURN

Leniu flew into Sydney on Tuesday morning to be greeted by a throng of cameras and microphones.

Perhaps now with a grasp of the magnitude of the drama, he was wisely tight-lipped. The drama had escalated dramatically in the days after the game.

Sides were being picked. One was led by South Sydney superstar Latrell Mitchell, a proud defender of Indigenous players and campaigner against racism.

Mitchell had been targeted more than once over the years and refused to yield. He has made it part of his charter to stand up to racism in any form.

Mitchell made his stance well known, suggesting Leniu should face a ban of 12 weeks or more. Leniu had his supporters as well, including his former coach at Penrith Ivan Cleary and former teammate Izack Tago.

Spencer Leniu at Sydney Airport. Picture: Rohan Kelly

Ezra Mam at the Brisbane International Airport. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

They spoke about the allegations being at odds with the Leniu they knew. Meanwhile, in the background, there were suggestions that Leniu hadn’t delivered the comment as a racial attack.

Leniu’s manager Joe Nakat, wary of his client being judged before he had a chance to face the tribunal and state his case, urged the NRL and Rugby League Players Association to intervene.

It is understood at least one high profile former player was contacted and asked to remind some of the senior Indigenous players that they were prevented from commenting on the outcome of judiciary issues before they had been heard.

Leniu, meanwhile, had shut up shop and by Tuesday plans were being made to draft a statement in which he addressed the issue, focusing on his sympathy for Mam.

THE STATEMENT

The Roosters called in lawyer James McLeod to represent Leniu, having used him before to defend the likes of Waerea-Hargreaves and Lindsay Collins.

McLeod was given an impossible task. Brisbane players were coming forward to say they had heard what Leniu had said and were prepared to testify on behalf of Mam.

Club officials had asked for the hearing to be expedited to Monday but in the background, some clubs were questioning why the club itself had remained silent given the overwhelming evidence that was building against Leniu.

On Thursday just after lunchtime, the dam finally broke. The Roosters released a statement that confirmed Leniu had used the word “monkey” against Mam.

He said he wanted to apologise to Mam and said he was putting his hand up because he wanted to own the situation. Leniu insisted he hadn’t used the word in a racist way.

He has now effectively thrown himself on the mercy of the judiciary. Earlier in the week, as debate raged over a potential ban, sources suggested he was looking at anywhere from six to eight weeks on the sideline.

Others were demanding longer. Leniu has likely helped his cause with his apology but still faces some time away from the game.

Meanwhile, his post-game interview on Triple M has gone viral on social media. At last count, it had more than 2.3 million views.

Originally published as Spencer Leniu-Ezra Mam: Fresh details emerge about the saga that rocked the NRL