‘I regret what I’ve done’: Ezra Mam feared he’d be sacked by the Broncos as star five-eighth grilled over October crash

Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam says he was worried that he could have been sacked by the club after he was found guilty of drug-driving charges last year, banned for nine matches and hit with fines totalling $120,000. Mam fronted the media on Thursday afternoon for the first time since his December court appearance where he was fined $850 and banned from driving for six months for driving with cocaine in his system and without a licence. The 22-year-old crashed into a vehicle and injured the driver, a female passenger and her daughter on October 18. “That’s the past, and right now, I’m looking forward to moving forward. I’ve done a bit of work behind the scenes to overcome that point in time,” he said on Thursday. “I do understand that I play a big part in young people’s lives. What’s happened has happened and I have had to accept that. The only way I can get myself back out there is through my actions and gaining respect for my actions on and off the field. “I’m truly sorry and I regret what I’ve done. I was in the wrong, but right now I am looking forward to getting back on the right path.” Mam signed a five-year extension last February but feared the lucrative deal would be ripped up by the club. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried,” Mam said. “I’m just grateful I did get the opportunity to keep going for the Brisbane Broncos, and no doubt, I want to repay the Broncos for giving me a second chance. I think that’s just about growing now from this moment. “The only way I can gain respect is with my actions on and off the field from now on. “I am truly sorry and I regret what I did. I remind myself every day that I was in the wrong but right now I am looking forward to getting on the right path and being a positive role model for future generations.” Mam was criticised for not reaching out to his victims at the time, but he has since explained why he wasn’t able to do so. “Leading up to the court case, for legal reasons I wasn’t able to reach out to the victims, which was on my mind,” he said. “Once the court case was settled, I reached out that day and expressed myself to them and wanted to catch up and show how I sorry I was. “I’ve reached out a couple of times to them to meet up, but I don’t want to cramp their space and be too pushy. I just want to respect their boundaries, and when the time is right and they get back to me, then we’ll go from there.” Mam spent time in rehab to improve parts of his life, with the talented playmaker free to return in round 10 against the Rabbitohs.