Two years after the Panthers broke the Broncos\u2019 hearts in an epic decider, the two teams will resume their rivalry this weekend with Mam set to return from a hamstring injury via the bench. <\/p>\n
For the Broncos, it\u2019s a chance to not only get back to a grand final for the second time in three years. It also provides them with the opportunity to end the Panthers\u2019 reign and release the tight grip the Penrith have had on the competition since 2020.<\/p>\n
WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n That grand final in 2023 will mainly be remembered for deeds of Panthers star Nathan Cleary, and how he somehow willed his side back from a 14-point deficit in a glittering 20-minute period.<\/p>\n However, sometimes forgotten about that match was how dominant Mam was for the Broncos.<\/p>\n For 60 minutes, he was the best player on the park, lighting up Accor Stadium with a hat-trick as Brisbane built a seemingly unassailable 22-8 lead.<\/p>\n The Broncos had one hand one the trophy and Mam looked to have had the Clive Churchill Medal in his keeping until Cleary went scorched earth.<\/p>\n After that night in October, things went south for Mam. <\/p>\n While there were moments of brilliance, his overall form regressed the following season as the Broncos missed the finals.<\/p>\n Mam then endured a brutally tough off-season after an act of dangerous stupidity left three people injured, including a young girl.<\/p>\n The Broncos playmaker caused a head on car crash in October while under the influence of drugs when his ute collided with an Uber at Bardon in Brisbane\u2019s west. <\/p>\n Mam pleaded guilty to driving unlicensed and driving with a relevant drug in his blood.<\/p>\n He copped a nine game ban from the Broncos and a $30,000 fine. <\/p>\n Mam has had to deal with boos and vitriol from opposition fans since returning from the suspension.<\/p>\n Despite all of that as well as commentary around whether his ban wasn\u2019t harsh enough, Mam\u2019s form on the field this season has been top notch, even earning selection in the Maroons\u2019 extended squad for Game II.<\/p>\n He helped the Broncos to a 6-4 record in the ten games he started at five-eighth this season.<\/p>\n That was until he suffered a hamstring injury against the Storm in Round 23.<\/p>\n The Broncos have arguably been the form team of the competition over the past month, despite missing starting halves Mam and Adam Reynolds.<\/p>\n Both players are being tipped to return for Sunday\u2019s prelim.<\/p>\n Former coach Kevin Walters believes Mam\u2019s addition will only help the Broncos, stating what the talented playmaker will bring to the side. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s pretty handy player to be coming back into your side. Most teams would appreciate the fact that he would be coming back into the side,\u201d Walters told foxsports.com.au.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure a lot of clubs would like Ezra on their books.<\/p>\n \u201cHe plays with a lot of energy and obviously he\u2019s a strong ball runner. We\u2019ve seen that from him in the past.<\/p>\n \u201cDefensively, I think he\u2019s improved a lot on that this year as well. It\u2019s a aspect of his game he\u2019s made some good progress in the last couple of years. Really good progress.\u201d<\/p>\n Fairly or unfairly, no other player has seen their reputation torn to shreds more than Mam in the past 12 months. <\/p>\n For some fans, they won\u2019t ever be able to forgive Mam for his actions. It\u2019ll be a mistake that will probably always follow him.<\/p>\n Walters says Mam would have learnt a lot during his time in the spotlight and then on he sideline.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s very easy to coach. He\u2019s a good young person, very much team oriented,\u201d Mam\u2019s former coach said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the way he goes about his stuff. He\u2019s well committed to the game, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all just strong learnings for him. Being around the team and the club without contributing, you know, it\u2019s always tough for a player so you learn a lot about yourself and your own commitment to the game. <\/p>\n \u201dI\u2019m sure he\u2019s learned a lot in that space as well. <\/p>\n With that said, Walters doesn\u2019t believe Mam will feel like he owes the club.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, not really. It\u2019s all personal for him,\u201d Walters said.<\/p>\n So I feel like he, you know, he\u2019ll want to get back playing regardless of the situation. That\u2019s just him and his character.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The man who single-handedly terrorised the Panthers in the 2023 grand final is set to be unleashed on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":164264,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-164263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\n