In the 2023 decider, Ezra Mam was 23 minutes away from celebrating a shining moment in his career – player of the match honours after scoring a hat-trick to help secure the Broncos a premiership.
But NRL fans know how that game played out, with Nathan Cleary redefining his standing in the game with an undeniable individual performance to lead his Panthers to a 26-24 come-from-behind win.
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Panthers v Broncos – Grand Final, 2023
This year, Mam is grateful for his chance to rewrite the script, with the Broncos out to quell the hurt of that loss when they take on the Storm on Sunday.
Playing his part in denying Penrith’s quest for a five-peat, coming from the bench in the preliminary final as the Broncos mounted a comeback of their own in their 16-14 win, Mam missed nine games to start the season as he served a suspension for breaching the NRL Code of Conduct. He later torn his hamstring in Brisbane’s Round 23 loss to the Storm, but made a much quicker-than-expected return to the field, with the next stop now the grand final.
“As a group, we believed in it (a return to the grand final) from the start and that’s where we’re heading to,” Mam said.
“For myself, it’s just about improving as I go … (for my injury), our physios had a look at it and they did a lot of work behind the scenes to get me right.
“It was quite a big shock that I was actually going to make a return, so I’m happy to be back and I’m happy the Broncos put full trust in me to make a return early.”
Ezra Mam and Michael Maguire at Brisbane’s open training session earlier this week.
©Scott Davis / NRL Images
Named in 14 again and set to come off the bench, while plans may change on game day, Mam said he was preparing to take on any role handed to him by coach Michael Maguire.
“He spoke to me about being ready to go on the field wherever that position might be,” Mam said of his role against Penrith were he came on in the 32nd minute.
“I was coming on as the that left half; I wasn’t too sure what time I was going to be on, we just talked about coming on with energy and just playing free.
“I go out there to play footy and make the most of my opportunities; and if the opportunities come, I’m more than happy to take it.
“I will just do my job for the team and whatever they need of me is what I’m willing to do.”
While players like Payne Haas have said they have not looked back on the 2023 heartbreak, others like Mam have taken stock and were looking to share their experiences with the new faces in this year’s team.
“Obviously, everyone doesn’t want to lose the grand final … and for me it was a bit of a shock, because that year, everything was going pretty well for us and we were (that close to) winning that premiership and it got taken away from us,” Mam said.
“It definitely was a good learning experience and at least we know now for this week coming that we have just got to play the full 80 minutes.”
Jordan Riki with the ball against the Panthers.
©Zain Mohammed / NRL Images
Second rower Jordan Riki is another who has been fuelled by that experience and has taken his lessons from the loss.
Saying he had “no words” about being back in a decider, Riki was proud of the way the team were able to regroup this season after the disappointment of missing the finals last year.
“Grateful for the team that all the effort that we put in right through this year (is paying off),” Riki said.
“Obviously a bit of adversity last year and a couple years before that as well.
“To be able to be in this position again; (I am) extremely grateful.
“I probably took that ’23 year for granted.
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All Tries – Broncos v Panthers
“I wasn’t really sure what the week was all like in that year and how hard it is to get in the final series, so to be able to able to be back here again is really good.
“I had a few chats with Madge throughout the week (of the preliminary final) and you could sort of tell; myself and a lot of other boys, it was sitting on the back of our minds and we kept saying ‘redemption’ …
“To be able to tick that box and move on to the grand final is awesome … we can say we’ve been there, we’ve done that and we know what it’s like.
“We took a lot of lessons from that ’23 year.
“Obviously it’s also not done. We have got one more game.
“A lot of us spoke about it … all of us boys that were in that team that year; we were deer in headlights really. We didn’t really know what was going on.
“The whole outside noise of media, fans and the grand final (celebrations); everything was a massive blur and you weren’t really focusing on the game.
“I think now for us, we know that the game’s most important; obviously, it’s good to enjoy that week and soak it in with the fans, but at the end of the day, we have got to knuckle down and get that win.”
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Last time they met: Storm v Broncos
Addressing their grand final opponents, Riki said he was looking forward to another “great battle”.
“They are such quality team; we’ve had many great battles along the years,” Riki said.
“They’re such a great club, great organisation, got great players as well.
“They’re very experienced as well. It’ll be a good game.
“Now I’m just excited to be able to enjoy this week with my club and my players and just go out there on grand final day.”