Ezra Mam's NRL return has been put on ice, with the star No.6 to to make his rugby league return for Souths-Logan in the Queensland Cup.
Mam will not line up away against the South Sydney on Friday night in the NRL, instead he will headline the clash at Davies Park with his former club against Western Clydesdales on Sunday.
The 22-year-old's NRL-imposed nine-match suspension for driving with drugs in his system and without a licence has expired, and from this week he is available to play for the Broncos.
Skipper Adam Reynolds said the Broncos had made the right call by easing him back into action in the second tier.
"Any player who has spent a long time out of the game, they want to get their timing back and go through the simple things and make sure they do that right," Reynolds said.
"It would be wrong of us to just stick him out there and think he can do the job straight away. The NRL is pretty tough and it's demanding.
"He is excited to get back (to Souths-Logan) and work on himself and his game. It won't be long before he is back in the NRL."
The Brisbane five-eighth had a head-on collision on October 18 with an Uber-registered vehicle, injuring the driver, a female passenger and her young daughter.
Mam was fined $850 and disqualified from driving for six months.
He was also suspended by the NRL until Round 10 and fined $120,000 jointly by the league and Brisbane.
Mam has attended Broncos home games and trained with the side since January 7, after he had earlier attended a rehabilitation facility to help him deal with personal issues.
Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs said Mam deserved a second chance, as he himself has had previously.
"Everybody makes mistakes. He has learned. I have been through that and learned the hard way as well," he said.
"He has taken it pretty deep that what he has done wrong he has done wrong.
"It is in the past and he wants to get back to footy and being around the boys and club. We have always had his back from day one when it all went down. He's known that, and our love and support has been with him."
Reynolds said he had been "super impressed" with how Mam had handled himself since his fall from grace.
"It's quite easy to sit there and feel sorry for yourself. He has done a lot of great things in the background, not only at training but away from training," Reynolds said.
"There's a lot of things that a lot of people don't know what he is doing. We love Ez and love what he brings."
Mam was booed by a section of the Magic Round crowd on Sunday, a scenario the club is aware he will have to face in the weeks ahead.
"I don't think it was our fans at the stadium. Our fans love him," Staggs said.
"(Our fans) want to see him back as much as we want to see him back."
Mam played his junior footy for the Goodna Eagles in Ipswich, but later linked with the Souths-Logan Magpies club.
He was the Queensland Cup rookie of the year in 2021 after a stellar season with the Magpies.
Mam made his NRL debut the following year away against Newcastle, before scoring three tries in the 26-24 grand final loss to Penrith in 2023.
