NRL player Ezra Mam is the first footballer to win a premiership a year after winning The Frownlow Medal.
The Frownlow Medal is awarded to the player whose off-field demeanour epitomises the values of the modern-day footballer and draws attention to the status of footballers as role models to young Australians. It covers Australia’s four major football codes: the men’s and women’s National Rugby League (NRL), Australian Football League (AFL), the A-League (Football) and Rugby Union’s Super Rugby competition. NRL player Shaun Kenny-Dowall won the inaugural medal in 2015, while NRL star Ezra Mam is the most recent recipient.
Mam is still on a high after lifting the Provan-Summons trophy with the Brisbane Broncos in October 2025, but many people believe he shouldn’t even be playing NRL.
In 2024, he drove his powerful ute into an oncoming car in Brisbane and was later found to be under the influence of a cocktail of illicit drugs including cocaine. He was also driving without a licence.
A young girl and a woman suffered minor injuries and the magistrate in Mam’s court case labelled his actions as ‘stupid’.
Mam entered a rehabilitation facility shortly after for four weeks and undertook counselling for a year. Initially, he was banned for nine NRL games, had his licence disqualified for six months and was fined $850.
This incident earned him The Frownlow Medal in 2024.
Image: NRL Photos
The Frownlow Medal 