Banned NRL star Ezra Mam has made a surprise appearance at Red Hill on Tuesday, a week after he was slapped with a $120,000 fine by the NRL and the Brisbane Broncos.
Mam had pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous driving after he was involved in a crash in Bardon on October 18.
The footy star admitted to driving without a license and driving while a banned substance is present in blood.
Mam, who was alleged to have failed a roadside drugs test, had appeared in court over the charges with a Brisbane Magistrate handing him a $850 penalty and a six-month ban from driving, a judgement that caused a stir among many on social media and the wider footy community for its leniency.
After the sanctions were handed down, the NRL and Broncos also concluded their investigation into the matter, with the club and league coming down heavy on Mam, issuing him a nine-month ban. The NRL would hand him a $30,000 fine his club docked him $90,000.
Mam will also undergo several programmes and training schemes, including a ‘safer driving training programme’ as part of his punishment.
Ezra Mam has made an unexpected return to Brisbane training on Tuesday, after he had been handed a six-month driving ban
It came after the footy star had pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous driving after being involved in a crash in Brisbane on October 18
Mam is not expected to return until Round 10 of the 2025 season, but looked fit as he returned to pre-season training with his team-mates at Red Hill
Mam, who cannot play until Brisbane’s Round 10 clash against the Rabbitohs, returned to the training field looking fit and healthy as he joined in with his team-mates in pre-season training on Tuesday.
The playmaker was seen working through a fitness drill alongside new signing Ben Hunt at the Clive Berghofer Centre.
Mam’s last game for the Broncos came against the Titans in Round 22, with the Brisbane outfit suffering a 46-18 defeat on August 3.
He had played in 19 of the Broncos league matches up until then, scoring nine tries.
Following his court hearing, Mam had said: ‘To the people involved in the accident, I am truly sorry. This incident isn’t a reflection of what I want to be and what is expected of me as a role model.
‘To the NRL, Brisbane Broncos, the fans, my family – I am sorry. I promise to work on being a better person.’
A mother and her four-year-old daughter were riding as passengers in the Uber when the incident took place.
Mam had checked into a rehabilitation centre following the incident but has been keeping a low profile since the incident on October 18.
Also in attendance at Tuesday’s session was new signing and returning star Ben Hunt, who re-joined the club earlier this summer
Mam (right) was also seen speaking with Adam Reynolds (left) during the session, as the group worked their way through several fitness drills
The halfback’s $850 fine and six-month driving ban, handed down by a Brisbane Magistrate, has been branded as a ‘slap on the wrist’ by some in the NRL community
He had also taken up a job as a labourer on a building site while the legal proceedings were going on.
Some had slammed Mam’s initial sentence by the Brisbane Magistrates Court as a ‘slap on the wrist’.
Others, meanwhile believed his nine-match ban by the AFL was also ‘still not enough’.
‘Still not enough! What about the poor victim, I’ll bet she’s in a world of pain following the accident, let alone any financial hardship,’ one X user said.
‘Makes a mockery of the whole situation.’
While speculation had arisen over the 21-year-old’s future at the club following the incident, new footy boss Michael Maguire appeared to dismiss claims that Mam’s $4million five-year deal would be ripped up.
Hunt, meanwhile, has begun his second stint at the club and also looked lean as he participated in the training session.
Many Brisbane fans have been excited by his return to the club where he made his NRL debut back in 2009, with the hooker jumping ship to St George Illawarra for six years before the Rockhampton-born star returned back to Queensland.
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