Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Broncos star Ezra Mam has been issued with a notice for allegedly breaching the NRL’s code of conduct after he pleaded guilty to driving with drugs in his system and driving without a licence.
The 21-year-old playmaker was fined $850 and banned from driving for at least six months at a court hearing last week following a collision in Brisbane in October. Mam was driving his ute when he crashed into an Uber carrying a female passenger and her four-year-old daughter, who needed hospital treatment.
The NRL issued a breach notice alleging Mam had “engaged in conduct which is against the law and has brought the game and his club into disrepute.”
Under the NRL’s collective bargaining agreement, the governing body will not reveal its proposed sanction until the player has had time to respond. The usual time frame is five business days, but public holidays over the Christmas period mean the process is unlikely to be finalised until January.
At his sentencing hearing last Monday, Mam promised to become a better person after the magistrate told him he was lucky to be alive.
“At so many levels you’re fortunate to be able to stand where you are today given you were involved in a two-vehicle accident,” the sentencing magistrate said. “You could have been injured or killed or the other [people] could have been injured or killed. You’ve got to learn from this.”
Ezra Mam reads a statement outside Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday, apologising to his family, his fans, his club and the NRL.Credit: William Davis
Mam, who signed a five-year deal with the Broncos worth about $4 million in February, said he was “truly sorry” for his actions.
“Today is an important step in owning my actions and starting to make things right. To all the people involved in this accident, I’m truly sorry,” he said.
Tigers explain Sullivan’s Souths move
Christian Nicolussi
Jayden Sullivan became the second player to exit the Wests Tigers in as many days after club officials determined it was “bad business” to keep paying a back-up playmaker $700,000 a year.
A day after forward John Bateman left the Tigers for North Queensland, despite having two years to run on his deal, Sullivan inked a one-year deal with South Sydney.
Sullivan stood to earn $2.1 million over the next three years at the Tigers, but became surplus to requirements once Jarome Luai was recruited to play alongside boom five-eighth Lachie Galvin.
Jayden Sullivan has joined South Sydney on a one-year deal.Credit: Getty
Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson confirmed Sullivan had agreed to spend next year at Souths, but had a new contract in place at the Tigers for 2026 and 2027.
“The only reason we’ve let Jayden go is because you can’t have him on that money when we’ve signed Jarome,” Richardson said.
“Once we signed Jarome, it was always going to be difficult to carry Jayden on the money he was on. There have been no issues with Jayden, we just couldn’t afford to keep paying him what we were paying him.
“He didn’t start the year well last season, but I will say when Jayden got dropped, nobody put in more than he did in reserve grade. He didn’t drop the bottom lip.
“There have been no issues with Jayden, we just couldn’t afford to keep paying him what we were paying him.”
Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson
“He’s also come back to pre-season training 12 kilograms lighter. He looks a million dollars, and I’m sure he’ll put pressure on the halves at Souths. We needed room in our cap, and Jayden understood that.”
Richardson said Sullivan’s original deal had been cancelled and a new contract signed for the 2026 and 2027 seasons under which he will earn the salary he would have pocketed under his original deal.
“Obviously if he gets exposed and plays regular first grade, he might attract interest and have a chance to land a better deal; we’re open to letting him go if that happens, and he knows that,” Richardson said.
Four-time Penrith premiership winner Luai has arrived at the club on a five-year $6m deal, while Galvin, who is also locked into a long-term deal, will be the starting No.6. The Tigers view Latu Fainu as their back-up playmaker.
Souths have signed Lewis Dodd from England, with Cody Walker their five-eighth, but needed a back-up playmaking option following Lachie Ilias’ exit for St George Illawarra.
With Bateman looking for a fresh start at the Cowboys, the Tigers have two spots to fill on their roster. Richardson expected a train-and-triallist to be upgraded to a full contract, but would hold fire on what to do with their final slot.
Meanwhile, the Dragons have re-signed Kyle Flanagan for a further two seasons, which will keep him at the club until the end of 2027. Flanagan’s extension follows news Cronulla’s Daniel Atkinson will join the club on a three-year contract from 2026.
And Canberra remain hopeful they can entice Newcastle forward Leo Thompson to the nation’s capital on what rival clubs believe to be a four-year deal worth around $3m.
Why McInnes is happy to extend one year at a time
Christian Nicolussi
Cronulla workhorse Cam McInnes is happy to sign one-year contract extensions for the remainder of his career if it keeps him hungry and helps the Sharks retain the next generation of young forwards coming through the ranks.
McInnes this week inked a 12-month deal to keep him in the Shire until the end of 2026, when he will be 32.
The veteran lock played his way into a NSW Origin jumper last season, and showing no signs of slowing down.
Cameron McInnes has explained why he is prepared to keep signing one-year extensions.Credit: Getty Images
A longer-term deal would have provided his young family with security, but McInnes was happy with the extra year.
“The way I look at it, I’ll be 32 at the end of that [2026] season, and I feel like I want to keep earning and proving [my worth],” McInnes said.
“I won’t talk on behalf of the club, but they have a lot of kids coming through. They’re getting experience, and taking that next step. For me to take money away from what they could potentially be [earning], I don’t think that makes sense.
“If I’m good enough, they have told me that [come] the 2027 season, we can go again. In my head I have an age I want to play to, which is 35 or 36. If [one-year extensions] are what it takes, that’s what I’ll do.
“It’s only my third or fourth year playing the lock role, so I feel like I’m still learning and improving, which is a good space to be in at 30 because the hunger is still there.”
McInnes and the Sharks slogged it out in Sydney’s sweltering heat early on Tuesday before heading to nearby Miranda for a series of hill climbs. It was the first time McInnes and the Sharks players completed an opposed session with recruit Addin Fonua-Blake.
“We all know he has that ball-carrying ability, and is an absolute handful to try and control, but he’s under-rated when it comes to his movement around the field,” McInnes said of the new arrival.
Fonua-Blake, 29, who joined on a four-year deal after being granted an early release from the New Zealand Warriors, said the Sharks trained at high speed and he had been surprised by how fit some of the senior players were on their return from their post-season break.
Meanwhile, coach Craig Fitzgibbon confirmed the Sharks will base themselves in Los Angeles before the season-opening double-header in Las Vegas. The other clubs heading Stateside for the big kick-off on March 1 next year (March 2, Sydney time), Penrith, Canberra and the Warriors, will all prepare in Las Vegas.
Newcastle’s Leo Thompson could double his salary.Credit: Getty
Knights blow as Leo prepares to leap
Michael Chammas
Newcastle have suffered a significant blow ahead of the Christmas break after prop forward Leo Thompson informed the club that he will not remain at the Knights beyond 2025.
Thompson has been considering his future at the Knights for the past couple of months and on Monday told club powerbrokers of his decision to leave at the end of his current deal.
Thompson is contracted until the end of 2025 and has a lucrative upgrade and extension on the table with Newcastle, but has decided to reject the club’s offer.
Thompson is now considering a big-money offer on the table from the Canberra Raiders, while the Bulldogs have met with the Kiwi international and expressed an interest in securing his services.
The Knights now have 10 days to try to convince Thompson to change his mind as per the NRL rules.
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