Why Maguire resisted urge to rip up Mam's contract
Brisbane coach Michael Maguire has no regrets about giving Ezra Mam the opportunity to salvage his career.
After serving a nine-match ban, the 22-year-old will play his first NRL game in 2025 on Sunday, seven months after a head-on collision with an Uber where he drove unlicensed and with drugs in his system.
The three occupants of the Uber were injured, including a young girl.
There were calls externally for Mam to have his contract torn up but the club resisted and allowed their star playmaker to redeem himself.
"When I first walked in, I looked at the scenario. I take people for who they are. I was fortunate to know Ezra from five or six years ago," he said.
"I got to know the family and I know the person. Ezra to his credit has taken on board what he's been through.
"He has grown as a man and what I have seen him do around the place, is the reason why I'm glad I kept him. He is really hungry to get out there and play with his teammates.
"Last week, he went back to (Souths Logan) and he was just excited about playing. He was excited about playing for the Broncos and the people he's had plenty of cheers from."
Maguire said the first day he arrived at the club Mam had to own his mistake. He also said he was determined to "have a look at how (Mam) ended up getting in that situation".
Maguire discovered, when he investigated the culture at the club in 2024, Mam had been caught up in an environment where alcohol-fuelled partying was far too prevalent.
CEO David Donaghy alluded to it in October last year when he said the club had cultural challenges and its football program had lost its focus.
Mam checked into a rehabilitation facility and worked on changing his lifestyle and his behaviour. He worked on a building site and did other activities behind the scenes to rebuild his life.
There have been plenty of people involved in the game that wanted Mam to be suspended for the entire year. The NRL made the call for a nine-month suspension, a ban which ended last week when Mam returned to the field for Souths Logan in the Queensland Cup.
Broncos great Steve Renouf said Maguire had made the right call by sticking with Mam.
"I do admire Madge for that. He understands young men. He just couldn't throw him on the scrap heap," Renouf said.
"Ezra has done his time. Whether people agree with his punishment or not that is the suspension he was given. He has done it and he has done it with grace. Now he just has to get on with it.
"Yes, he stuffed up but he will never do that again."Prop Pat Carrigan said he was glad to have Mam back.
"Ez' made a mistake, but part of his growth as a young man and a member of our club was to own that and move forward and he has done that," he said.
"To see his progress over the last 10 to 11 weeks, not only on the field, but off the field, he has earned the opportunity to come back and he will have to keep working on himself."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
40 minutes ago
- ABC News
Why Lachlan Galvin's Canterbury debut is the first gaGalvin's Bulldogs debut is the first game of the rest of his NRL lifeme of the rest of his NRL life
Lachlan Galvin has never, in his life, played in a game like Monday and from the looks of things there will be many more of them to come. It wasn't just the monster crowd of 59,878 that came to see Canterbury take on Parramatta — plenty of players go their whole careers without an audience like that outside of State of Origin or a grand final. The cold and the wet were never going to keep the blue and white army away, not when their team entered the round top of the league and are now into the second half of a season that has premiership aspirations. The Eels fought hard and made the Bulldogs work for it after a strong first half. But Canterbury turned the screws expertly in the final quarter of the match to grind out another win, as expected — and that's the difference between this game and all the others Galvin has played at the top level. In signing with Canterbury, Galvin has linked with one of the best teams in the competition and the expectations are radically different to anything he experienced in his 18 months with Wests Tigers. At the joint venture, Galvin was in a relatively low-pressure environment. The wins and the losses still mattered, because in first grade they all matter, but the stakes were nowhere near as high, and in choosing Canterbury and moving there mid-season, Galvin has upped the ante on himself. Given the way they've started the season, every match the Bulldogs play from here on out will likely prove crucial in the premiership race. They are heavyweights and the intensity and attention paid to them reflect that status. Going from a rebuilding club to a true premiership contender halfway through a season is an enormous jump in responsibility for any player, let alone a 20-year-old with exactly a season and a half under his belt. But confidence has rarely been an issue for Galvin. It never felt likely he would be overawed, even accounting for the media circus surrounding his move and his first showing for the Bulldogs was a good one. He came on at halfback with 25 minutes to go, with Canterbury up by two and both sides ripping in and showed a cool head by getting involved without chasing after the game madly. Galvin had some nice moments and they all came within the rhythm of the Bulldogs process. He did not overplay his hand, but straightened the attack nicely for Viliame Kikau's key try and got one of his own to finish things off by pushing up in support on the back of an offload. His teammates swamped him and the crowd erupted as though he'd been a Bulldog his whole life. It was a fine debut, one which tantalised with its possibility. The challenge now for Galvin is doing it again and again and again as the games get bigger and the stakes get higher. At the Tigers, if he went off the boil for a few weeks like all young players and especially young halves can from time to time, it was easier to excuse. They were in a process of regeneration and he was barely getting started in his career. He was still finding his way and ups and downs are all part of that process. Making mistakes and learning from them or hitting flat spots and fighting through them are part of growing up, as a footballer and a person. But things are different now. Galvin is still young but this move has accelerated his own timeline. These days of coming off the bench will not last long and the time draws near when he will start at halfback for Canterbury and the weight of the challenge of greatness will be upon his broad shoulders because that's exactly what this team was aspiring to even before he arrived. He won't have to carry it alone. The Bulldogs are a team who find strength in their numbers and every week a new player seems to step up when needed to make the difference. Against Parramatta, it was young prop Harry Hayes who backed up Kurt Mann to score a key try and ran for 218 metres off the bench. It's that depth across the park that makes Canterbury so dangerous and why great things feel possible for them in 2025. Their win over Parramatta had all the hallmarks of some of their best wins this year — there was the utter devotion to their process, ball control that starved the opposition of any opportunity and an ability to invariably come home stronger. As a team, the Bulldogs are good at these things because they've done them before. The success it has delivered them over the past 18 months was likely a big factor in attracting Galvin in the first place, but now he must do the same in order to justify his presence there. Through this whole saga, Galvin has shown an ability to leave the drama behind when he hits the field. Blessed with the certainty of youth, the pressure of his situation has not gotten to him yet despite the constant talk and a spotlight that grows harsher all the time. Now it will be a different kind of pressure, less hyperbolic but certainly more concentrated. He is no longer the best thing about one of the worst teams in the league, he is a finishing touch, the final piece of a puzzle that was already looking close to completed. If he plays like he did in the 25 minutes on Monday, Galvin can take the Bulldogs even higher — but that's not what the blue and white faithful will hope for, it's what they will expect. He is no longer a player of the future on a team dreaming of the days when success may come, but a player of the present on a team who feel close to glory. Canterbury can aspire to be the best, so the best is what will be expected. Such is his talent, Galvin was always going to cross this bridge eventually but now he has done there's no way back to how it was before. He's moved into a new world and must learn to master it and at the top end of the ladder patience is hard to come by.
7NEWS
7 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Former NRL player Teui ‘TC' Robati lured woman to pub toilet before alleged rape, jury told
Former NRL player Teui 'TC' Robati lured a woman into a pub toilet promising access to an exclusive event before allegedly raping her, a jury has been told. Robati, 23, has pleaded not guilty to raping the woman twice on December 11, 2022. The ex-Brisbane Broncos second-rower, wearing a white collared shirt, stood before the jurors and entered his pleas in Queensland's District Court on Monday. Crown prosecutor Isabelle MacNicol told the jury a 24-year-old woman had attended a pub at the inner-Brisbane suburb of Fortitude Valley to celebrate a friend's birthday. 'The young woman found herself alone in a locked bathroom with a man she didn't know, who was bigger and stronger than her, a man who pressured her into two sexual acts,' MacNicol said. 'That man was Teui Robati, who at the time was associated with the Brisbane Broncos.' Robati was axed by the Brisbane Broncos in February 2023, before the NRL season started. MacNicol said earlier in the night the woman and her group of friends recognised another Broncos player and started speaking with him. Robati, aged 21 at the time, came over to introduce himself. '(Robati) invited her to an upstairs event. She thought it was exclusive, that she might get free drinks,' MacNicol said. The woman was led upstairs at the pub and into a disabled bathroom. 'There was no mention of the event again. She thought Robati had taken her into the bathroom to offer a line of cocaine,' MacNicol said. 'They went in, the door closed. He put her arm around her neck and started kissing her.' MacNicol said Robati then exposed himself and demanded the woman perform a sex act. The woman responded 'I don't want to have sex with you,' McNicol told the jury. The jury heard Robati allegedly verbally and physically forced the woman into two sex acts in a brief period of time. 'You will hear she felt pressured ... you will hear she felt she could not get away,' McNicol said. 'You will hear from her friends that she was crying afterwards, panicking.' Robati's defence barrister David Funch told the jury it would not be an issue at the trial that his client was at the pub. 'It is accepted that sexual interaction occurred,' he said. Funch said an important issue would be a 'mistake of fact'. 'In broad terms, if the person had an honest belief that the person was consenting and it was reasonable for them to hold that belief in all the circumstances, then they have a defence,' he said. 'Then they are not guilty of the charge.' The jury heard the prosecution would have to prove to them beyond reasonable doubt that Robati's defence of mistaken consent did not apply. The trial then moved to closed court for the jury to watch video evidence from the alleged victim that was recorded in 2024. The trial is due to run for three days before Judge William Everson.
Daily Telegraph
9 hours ago
- Daily Telegraph
NRL SuperCoach live scores and analysis: Viliame Kikau sin bin divides experts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Bulldogs. Followed categories will be added to My News. Lachlan Galvin is coming down to a lovely price. But Matt Burton won't give up the five-eighth spot after a stunning display, so where does Galvin fit in? Tom Sangster analyses King's Birthday action. SUPERCOACH WINNERS * Matt Burton (91) – Clearly doesn't want his five-eighth spot taken by Lachlan Galvin. Best player on the field with a try and try assist. * Harry Hayes (88) – We pumped him up in Draft a while back and he's produced big-time. * Jacob Kiraz (68) – With KL Iro and Savelio Tamale injured, Kiraz will be one of the most popular buys of the upcoming round. To think this is his floor – 20 runs and six offloads. * Lachlan Galvin (36) – Putting him on the winner's list is a bit loose after just 24 minutes. But he scored a try and looked strong in the pressure moments. He'll dip below $500K soon, hopefully at the same time he earns a starting spot. Bargain. SUPERCOACH LOSERS * Isaiah Iongi (32) – Thanks for the good times. Iongi will be one of the most popular sells of the upcoming round after making only $300K, plus upcoming tough schedule. * Jordan Samrani (10) – Barely any game time off the bench. Has made over $200K and has aforementioned poor draw. Sell. Originally published as NRL SuperCoach live scores and analysis: Lachlan Galvin debut, Viliame Kikau sin bin divides experts
