Brisbane Broncos coach Michael Maguire has made good on his threat to swing the axe, dropping Ezra Mam to the bench and recalling young gun Tom Duffy at five-eighth for Saturday's clash with the Gold Coast Titans at Suncorp Stadium.
Last week, Mam was on the Queensland bench, hoping to be injected into the opening State of Origin match. Now, he has been ejected from the Broncos' starting side and is no guarantee of getting onto the field against the Titans.
The Broncos have lost their past four games, and Mam, a 2025 premiership winner, has been underwhelming. Former North Queensland playmaker Duffy, just 22, has been outstanding in his three NRL games for Brisbane.
Brisbane's 30-26 loss to last-placed St George Illawarra on Sunday hurt Mam's chances. He was off the pace as the Dragons took a 30-8 lead. Mam did have a leg issue and briefly went to the bench but returned to the field.
"Obviously we're not getting the starts right, we're not matching intensity at times, and it's not good enough," Maguire said. He added that he is not afraid to make changes to try to ignite the 11th-placed Broncos.
The club has also employed Melbourne and Queensland legend Cameron Smith as a consultant to mentor senior leaders and spine members. Smith was at Brisbane's Red Hill headquarters on Tuesday to pass on his wisdom.
Veteran half Ben Hunt, who is coming off the bench these days, said Maguire's post-match barrage after the Dragons loss was brutal. "As you could imagine, he wasn't real happy after that one. Deservingly, he ripped into us, he really did," Hunt said. "We need to have a look at ourselves and sort it out, or the season's going to disappear pretty quickly."
Mam, who trained freely with the Broncos on Tuesday, is the man to feel the coach's wrath. Duffy has been fine-tuning his craft and will feel comfortable in the halves alongside captain Adam Reynolds, with whom he has forged a strong bond.
"He's a great fella, and you can just sit down and have a coffee and talk footy or even just away from footy, talk about life with him, so he's been really good," Duffy said recently. "Just watching him and training with him and Dozer (Hunt) just going about their work, you just learn stuff being so close to them that you otherwise wouldn't. Then if there's something you need to ask about, they're not withholding any information. They're at the age where they want to give on what they've learned, and I'm really grateful for that. They have been unreal."
