The NRL will not allow Ezra Mam to serve part of his proposed nine-game ban in the pre-season All-Stars clash, meaning the entire suspension must be taken with Brisbane.
Mam was sent an NRL breach notice on Monday for bringing both the game and Broncos into disrepute, after his high-profile driving charges in October.
Mam was sent an NRL breach notice for bringing both the game and Broncos into disrepute.Credit: William Davis
He has five business days to respond, meaning he can wait until the new year to decide if he wants to challenge the suspension.
Players can ordinarily apply to have representative matches counted towards bans, including the pre-season All-Stars fixture.
Both Latrell Mitchell and Josh Addo-Carr currently have applications in with the NRL to do precisely that, as a result of their current bans relating to off-field matters.
Mam would ordinarily be eligible to play in the All-Stars match, as one of the game’s highest-profile Indigenous players.
But it is understood he will not have the ability to count the game to his ban, with the five-eighth having never previously featured in the representative fixture.
It means that if he does accept the ban, Mam will be unable to return for Brisbane’s Magic Round clash with Penrith.
Instead, he will have to wait another week to come back against South Sydney in round 10 on May 9 at Accor Stadium.