Mam escapes charge, free to play for Broncos
Ezra Mam is fre
e
to play for Brisbane against St George Illawarra after he was cleared of a high tackle in his rugby league return for Souths Logan.
The 22-year-old playmaker was put on report for a tackle on Western Clydesdales prop Lachlan Mears-Crabbe in the Magpies' 66-10 win at Davies Park on Sunday.
Queensland Rugby League's statewide competitions match review committee has reviewed the incident and Mam has not been charged.
Mam was superb in the Queensland Cup on his rugby league return from a nine-week suspension, with a try and three try assists before being rested after 47 minutes.
The Broncos have lost four of their past five games and are in a form slump ahead of Sunday's clash with the Dragons at Suncorp Stadium.
Regular five-eighth Ben Hunt tore a hamstring in the 22-14 loss to South Sydney on Friday night and will miss four to six weeks.
His absence opens the door for Broncos coach Michael Maguire to slot Mam in at No.6 on his preferred left side of the field, where he also played for Souths Logan.
Maguire was a spectator on Sunday at Davies Park, where he watched Mam work his way into the match and shine.
The Magpies are an affiliate club of the Broncos and it was no coincidence Mam left the field seven minutes after halftime, just after he had set up tries and made a surging run.
Maguire would have seen enough to know that his star playmaker had his timing back and there was no need to risk him any longer.
Former Broncos captain and current Souths Logan assistant coach Justin Hodges said after the match that Mam was ready to return to the Broncos line-up.
"He was outstanding," Hodges said.
"He is too good to be playing here, but obviously it is a privilege to have him. He is a first-grade player. I'm pretty sure he will be back up there next week."
Hodges was always confident Mam would be cleared of any high contact.
"It was a good shot. We don't see enough of that," Hodges said post-match.
"He didn't hit him high. He will be fine."
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