Brisbane Broncos hand star man five-figure fine following NRL ban

NRL club Brisbane Broncos have released a statement to confirm they have handed Ezra Mam a $90,000 fine following his drug driving offences. Mam was involved in a car crash in October and went on to fail a roadside drug test.

He has since pleaded guilty to one count of driving while relevant drug was present in blood and driving without a licence, with the court handing him a fine of $850 and a six-month driving disqualification. He also looks set to be hit with a nine-game suspension by the NRL which will see him miss a significant chunk of the season for the Broncos.

The club have now released a statement to confirm the notice from the NRL has been accepted by the stand-off, as has the five-figure fine the Broncos have given him. On top of that the Broncos insist that Mam will undertake a safer driving training programme, an ongoing work and study placement and an ongoing wellbeing support programme.

In the statement released on the Broncos’ official site, CEO Dave Donaghy said: “Whilst we are extremely disappointed that we have been placed in this position, we believe both the NRL and club-imposed penalties adequately reflect the gravity of what’s transpired and should act as a deterrent from this type of risky and anti-social behaviour.

“Ezra clearly did the wrong thing, but he has taken responsibility for his actions and shown genuine remorse towards those involved. He understands the impact this has had on everyone around him, and the game.

“Ezra has taken steps to get his life back on track since this incident and that must continue. We have been very clear about that.

“We believe the additional measures in place are important and will go hand in hand with integrating Ezra back into the work underway at the Broncos.”

The nine-game ban hasn’t been officially confirmed by the NRL, but he is expected to sit out of the first two months of the campaign.