Banned footy star Ezra Mam makes surprise appearance one week after being slapped with a $120,000 fine over drug driving scandal

Banned NRL star Ezra Mam made a surprise appearance at Red Hill on Tuesday, a week after he was fined $120,000 by the NRL and the Brisbane Broncos.

Mum had pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous driving after being involved in an accident in Bardon on October 18.

The footy star admitted driving without a license and driving with a prohibited substance in his blood.

Mom, who allegedly failed a roadside drug test, had appeared in court on the charge with a Brisbane magistrate fining him $850 and banning him from driving for six months, a verdict that caused uproar among many sparked outrage on social media and the wider footy community for her leniency.

After the sanctions were imposed, the NRL and Broncos also concluded their investigation into the matter, with the club and league coming down heavily on Mam and imposing a nine-month ban on him. The NRL would fine him $30,000, his club fined him $90,000.

Mom will also undergo various programs and training, including a “safer driving course” as part of his sentence.

It came after the footy star pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous driving after being involved in a crash in Brisbane on October 18.

Mam is not expected to return until Round 10 of the 2025 season but looked fit as he returned to pre-season training with his teammates at Red Hill.

Mom, who cannot play until Brisbane’s round 10 tie against the Rabbitohs, returned to the training field fit and healthy on Tuesday as he joined his teammates for pre-season training.

The playmaker was spotted doing a fitness exercise alongside new signing Ben Hunt at the Clive Berghofer Centre.

Mom’s last game for the Broncos was against the Titans in Round 22, with the Brisbane team suffering a 46-18 defeat on August 3.

He had played in 19 of the Broncos league matches to that point and scored nine tries.

After his court hearing, Mom had said, “To the people involved in the accident, I am truly sorry. This incident is not a reflection of what I want to become and what is expected of me as a role model.

“To the NRL, Brisbane Broncos, the fans, my family – I’m sorry. I promise to work on becoming a better person.”

A mother and her four-year-old daughter were passengers in the Uber when the incident occurred.

Mom checked into a rehabilitation center after the incident, but has been keeping a low profile since the incident on October 18.

Also in attendance at Tuesday’s session was new signing and returning star Ben Hunt, who rejoined the club earlier this summer

Mom (right) also spoke with Adam Reynolds (left) during the session, as the group worked their way through various fitness exercises

The halfback’s $850 fine and six-month driving ban imposed by a Brisbane magistrate has been branded a ‘slap on the wrist’ by some in the NRL community.

In addition, he had taken a job as a laborer on a construction site during the legal proceedings.

Some had dismissed Mam’s initial sentence in the Brisbane Magistrates Court as a ‘slap on the wrist’.

Others, meanwhile, believed his nine-match suspension by the AFL was also “still not enough”.

‘Still not enough! What about the poor victim? I bet she’s in a world of hurt after the accident, let alone financial trouble,” said an X user.

“Makes a mockery of the whole situation.”

While speculation had arisen over the 21-year-old’s future at the club following the incident, new football boss Michael Maguire appeared to dismiss claims that Mam’s five-year, $4 million contract would be torn up.

Hunt, meanwhile, has started his second spell at the club and also looked thin as he took part in training.

Many Brisbane fans are excited about his return to the club where he made his NRL debut in 2009, with the hooker jumping ship to St George Illawarra for six years before the Rockhampton-born star returned to Queensland.