Broncos great Sam Thaiday is “happy” Ezra Mam has been charged by police, saying he hopes it is the first step in a resurrection for the embattled young player.
Mam was on Wednesday charged by Queensland Police with one count of driving while relevant drug is present in blood and one count of driving a motor vehicle, as well as being issued with a traffic infringement notice for failure to maintain control of vehicle.
The 21-year-old will appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on December 16.
Mam was arrested after a car accident last month, where he returned a positive roadside drug test and was allegedly driving without a valid licence.
He remains in rehab and faces an uncertain future at Red Hill.
Mam issued a statement to News Corp after police announced the charges.
“I understand the seriousness of the situation,” Mam said.
“I understand the importance in myself standing up to take responsibility for my actions. I will co-operate 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.”
Thaiday – who is friends with the young five-eighth – is confident he will be back on the footy field once legal proceedings wrap up.
“There’s a small part of me that’s happy we have come to this point where he has been charged, he’s got a court date now, and the process of him getting back out and playing football is on its way,” Thaiday told Nine’s Today.
“I’m glad to hear Ezra is speaking out and that he’s showing remorse. I’m sure at some point he will reach out to the victims.
“I just want to see Ezra back out there playing football.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing what (coach Michael Maguire) can do with this playing group, and I hope he’s patient enough to let this process that Ezra has to go through happen.”
New Broncos coach Maguire addressed the situation on Triple M radio on Wednesday.
“The police would have gone through an extremely thorough process,” he told The Rush Hour with Leisel Jones, Liam & Dobbo.
“We can move forward and build to where we want to get to on and off the field.
“For Ezra, I’m sure he’s getting a lot of help at the moment… we work out where we wanna go moving forward. “I look forward to chatting to Ezra at depth.
“He’s still obviously working on himself at the moment.”
Given the charges that have been laid against Mam, the NRL’s no-fault stand-down policy would not come into effect, which is brought in for charges that would incur a maximum prison sentence of 11 years or more.
At this stage, the NRL has not addressed the matter since the charges were revealed by police, but reports indicate Mam could miss up to 12 weeks through suspension.
