Mam back as Broncos old halves firm crowned by 'King'

The old firm is back for Brisbane, with Ezra Mam set to partner Adam Reynolds in the halves, a proven partnership Wally Lewis insists will be "very handy for the Broncos" in their quest to find winning form

Mam, who trained at five-eighth on Tuesday after starring for Souths Logan on his return to rugby league on Sunday, is back after a nine-game suspension to play his first NRL game of the season against St George lllawarra at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.

After four losses in five games, the restoration of the Mam/Reynolds combination has come at just the right time.

In the middle of the 2021 season, former coach Kevin Walters and CEO Dave Donaghy went to Sydney to meet Reynolds and recruited him for the following year as the organising No.7 to guide the club's resurgence.

In Round 11 of 2022, Walters debuted Mam against Newcastle, and he showed the coach he was made for the NRL arena.

The following season the duo combined superbly to lead the Broncos to the grand final as a true yin-and-yang halves combination.

Walters designed a game plan where the pair played their individual roles but also combined as halves with success.

Mam played mostly on the left side and was encouraged to link with Reynolds on the right as another creative force.

It was a formula that had worked so well for Walters and Allan Langer in the 1990s.

"It is very handy for the Broncos to have two blokes like that in those positions who can adjust and take control," Lewis told AAP.

"Ezra is a smart operator now. He knows if there is an opportunity he takes off and makes the most of it ... in a running role where he doesn't have to come up with something so smart and creative himself.

"When he gets himself in the position where there are no opportunities for him or chief playmaker Reynolds, he is smart enough to pass the ball and offer an opportunity to those outside him.

"It has been good to see him adjust to a position where it is not easy to snap your fingers and extract the best from.

"It took him a little while to adjust. He was a shy kid to start with but that has gone out the window and he is able to react to any situation quickly so that he can play a key role. It has been good to watch him do it."

That is a ringing endorsement from former Broncos skipper Lewis, one of the greatest five-eighths to lace a boot.

He is also enthused by the way Reynolds has handled wearing the No.7 jersey at a club where all and sundry are compared to the one and only Langer."If you get pulled over by the cops for break-and-enter that's a crime, but go and play halfback at the Broncos and that will really get you in trouble," Lewis chuckled.

"Reynolds is just a key playmaker and can be creative or tip the ball on.

"When he came to the Broncos he had plenty of people being a little bit critical and putting him up against the key playmakers at the club and comparing him to Alf (Langer).

"He's handled that really well and I think everyone is extremely happy with the performances he has put on."