- Broncos five-eighth, 21, has been ordered to appear in court
- Star crashed his ute into an Uber in Brisbane on October 18
Brisbane Broncos coach Michael Maguire has guaranteed the club will not sack troubled star Ezra Mam after he was charged with drug driving and entered rehab.
The five-eighth signed a five-year, $4million contract in February and there has been speculation that the deal would be torn up after Queensland police alleged he tested positive to an illegal substance in two samples taken after his head-on crash with an Uber last month.
On Friday, Maguire was asked if the 21-year-old had played his last game for the club and said, ‘No, he hasn’t.
‘We need to make sure we are slow about our decisions because we have to see everything for what it is.
‘It’s a big incident and it’s not taken lightly, but Ezra is working on himself and making sure he is going through his process.
‘We will need to connect with everyone who has been involved in that accident.’
Maguire also told radio 4BC that everyone in the Broncos organisation has to ‘all take ownership for what’s going on’.
Police charged Mam with drug driving on Wednesady after he allegedly tested positive to an illegal drug after crashing his car into another vehicle on October 18 – leaving him at risk of a huge ban from the NRL.
The 21-year-old has been ordered to appear at Brisbane Magistrates Court on December 16 after the charge was laid on Wednesday.
Mam has also been hit with a traffic infringement notice for fail to maintain control of vehicle over the collision in Brisbane, which saw his Ford Ranger have a head-on collision with an Uber.
The star five-eighth was given a roadside drug test by police after the incident and allegedly returned a positive result.
He underwent further testing in hospital to confirm the first result. The second samples allegedly came back positive on Tuesday.
Mam has been charged with one count of driving while relevant drug is present in blood, and one count of drive motor vehicle with out a driver’s licence.
He was reportedly moving house when the accident occurred in the inner-north Brisbane suburb of Bardon.
Mam broke his silence over the charges on Thursday.
‘I understand the seriousness of the situation,’ he told News Corp.
‘I understand the importance in myself standing up to take responsibility for my actions.
‘I will cooperate with the legal process to come.
‘I also understand my responsibilities as a role model in the community and I’m prepared to work hard to live up to those expectations going forward.’
The passengers in the Uber that collided with Mam’s Ford Ranger in the accident were a mother and daughter.
The mother has claimed that she and her four-year-old daughter were hospitalised after the crash, with the girl suffering a broken hip in the collision.
Mam is being investigated by the NRL Integrity Unit over the incident.
Mam’s teammate and good friend Reece Walsh pleaded with the club not to sack the playmaker earlier this month.
‘I feel for Ezra, he is an awesome person for a start,’ Walsh said.
‘He is going through a tough time at the moment and everyone in this club feels for him.
‘They know the bloke Ezra is and how caring he is. We have his back and it’s important we are there for him and we support him.
‘He will take the actions he needs to do to come back in the right way.’
It is the second time Mam has been involved in an off-field incident this year with the young star and fullback Reece Walsh investigated by the NRL following an altercation with fans in Bali while on holiday.
