NRL world erupts over 'terrible' incident as Ezra Mam boos backfire badly on Dogs
Brisbane were missing four of their best players on State of Origin duty and Selwyn Cobbo had a shocker at fullback in place of Maroons' 18th man Reece Walsh after gifting the Dogs two of their tries. But after looking dead and buried after trailing 18-0 at halftime - courtesy of tries to Bulldogs trio Marcelo Montoya, Matt Burton and Viliame Kikau - Mam engineered an epic turnaround that helped Brisbane seal their fourth-straight win.
Mam was booed every time he touched the ball, as Bulldogs fans let the Brisbane No.6 know exactly what they thought about his drug-driving controversy from last year. But after a poor first half in which the Dogs ran rampant, the controversial Broncos playmaker stood up in the second 40, laying on three tries to help Brisbane snatch a miraculous four-point win.
The result kept the Broncos within two wins of the top four and the injury-hit Warriors, and marked their second victory over Canterbury this year. Michael Maguire's men scored four tries in the final 20 minutes to complete the epic turnaround, and Mam was at the heart of just about everything as Brisbane kept the Dogs scoreless in the second half as Mam had the last laugh on his detractors.
Booing backfiring on the Bulldogs, Ezra Mam killing the Dogs #NRLBulldogsBroncos
— Paul Kneeshaw (@Stick_Beetle) July 4, 2025
Ezra was unreal that last 20mins. What an effort from him and the rest of the team #NRLBulldogsBroncos
— BH (@BHolloway4) July 4, 2025
Hey Doggies fans. Some advice. Don't Boo Ezra Ma'am. He carved the dogs up.
— MickintheGong🍞 (@MickinGong) July 4, 2025
The boos stopped once the Broncos hit the lead off the back of 3 Ezra try assists. Funny that🤣
— Michael McLucas (@Jebadude) July 4, 2025
Canterbury were also missing several players on Origin duty, with coach Cameron Ciraldo making a late call to shift Matt Burton to centre and start with Lachie Galvin at No.6. But the move raised more questions about how Canterbury's star recruit fits into the Bulldogs' halves combination, with Galvin and Dogs No.7 Toby Sexton both guilty of pushing too many passes and searching for points.
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But for 60 minutes the Bulldogs looked in control, before Mam breathed life into the Broncos by finding space out wide and setting up their first try for Josiah Karapani - who has impressed after replacing Cobbo on the wing. Mam then lay on a beautiful cut-out ball to put centre Delouise Hoeter between two defenders to reduce the deficit to eight points, before interchange Billy Walters scurried over from dummy half to score in his 100th game for the club.
With Brisbane two points down in the final 10 minutes and smelling blood in the water, controversy erupted when Kotoni Staggs was blatantly taken out by Tracey after kicking for himself down the right touchline. Referee Todd Smith, the linesman and the Bunker all failed to award the Broncos a penalty, leaving viewers furious on social media, but Brisbane got the ball back after Galvin batted the ball into touch.
Fortunately, the officiating howler did not end up costing Brisbane victory as Mam produced another moment of magic off the ensuing set to wrap up an incredible win. The Broncos five-eighth juggled the ball before a sweetly timed sort ball for Brendan Piakura sent the Brisbane second-rower crashing over for the match-winner and silencing the home fans.
"The way Reyno (Reynolds) and Ezra are coming together, they are starting to grow together a bit," Brisbane coach Maguire said after the game. "Ezra took the game on. I saw Reyno talk to him at halftime about what they needed to do, and he went out there and did it."
Footy gods weren't going to let Bulldogs get away with this one #NRLBulldogsBroncos pic.twitter.com/EFQNsEdcOH
— Todd Van Steensel (@toddvs35) July 4, 2025
#NRLBulldogsBroncos that is a black and white sin bin
— ᴛᴀʟᴋꜱʜɪᴛɢᴇᴛᴛᴡᴇᴇᴛ (@HawkReport) July 4, 2025
That's a sin bin… terrible from the ref #NRLBulldogsBroncos
— Paul Kneeshaw (@Stick_Beetle) July 4, 2025
Bulldogs got lucky. Should have been a sin bin #NRLBulldogsBroncos
— gemma rogers (@gemma92rogers) July 4, 2025
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