Broncos leaders Kotoni Staggs and Ben Hunt believe the shock decision to deploy Ezra Mam off the bench can inflict the same heartbreak upon the Panthers as the southern club dealt Brisbane two years ago. This is a stage Mam knows well, having come within two minutes of clinching a Clive Churchill Medal on the back of his grand final hat-trick in 2023, before Penrith’s Nathan Cleary orchestrated a 16-point comeback. This has also been a season fraught with turmoil for the Brisbane five-eighth, who was suspended for the opening nine weeks after being charged with driving without a licence and with drugs in his system. Ezra Mam will come off the bench in the Broncos’ preliminary final clash with Penrith at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Getty ImagesHis NRL comeback started emphatically – he scored five tries while coming up with 10 try assists and 10 linebreak assists from as many games – before he suffered a hamstring injury in round 23 against the Melbourne Storm.