NRL News: Ezra Mam incident divides NRL world, Broncos suffer brutal setback at Bulldogs’ hands in final

Broncos fans felt unfairly treated after a crucial Bulldogs try was disallowed despite the referee appearing to have accidentally tripped. Ezra Mam in Brisbane’s costly loss to Canterbury on Saturday afternoon. As the Broncos link-up attempted to mark Canterbury fullback Connor Tracey, he lost his footing after Grant Atkins appeared to hit him on the heels.

The Bulldogs went into Saturday afternoon’s game having lost their last seven games against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium and their previous 13 games at this stadium, but they overcame that curse and then some with a stunning 41-16 victory.

With the score at 22-10 with 20 minutes to go, Brisbane was still within reach. But the game was quickly out of reach after the Broncos again Bronson Xerriwho broke through from well inside the Bulldogs’ half before pulling the ball and passing to Tracey who strolled past unchallenged. While Reece Walsh’s effort in coverage left a lot to be desired, Mam was charging in to take on the Canterbury No.1 when he lost his footing and fell to the ground.

Mam almost managed to catch Tracey before he crossed the line as Broncos players immediately surrounded the referee to protest. Replays appeared to show the referee clipping the heels of Brisbane’s number 6 but after a lengthy review from the bunker, the try was awarded to the Bulldogs.

It was the final nail in the Broncos coffin, as their fans quickly took to X to express their displeasure at the decision. Other NRL Fans weren’t so sure Atkins was to blame, thinking the Broncos tight end might have shot himself in the foot.

Broncos final hopes almost over after Bulldogs defeat

The Bulldogs produced one of their most efficient attacking performances of the season, almost destroying the Broncos’ hopes of reaching the finals on Saturday. With the Bulldogs without star centre Stephen Crichton (neck) and Brisbane playing to preserve their season, many expected them to be too strong, but Canterbury was undeterred.

The Bulldogs started well with two tries in the first 15 minutes and looked confident with the ball in hand, but Canterbury’s third try brought the fans to their feet in what could be considered the try of the season.

On the Bulldogs’ third attempt, Burton threw a bomb that was allowed to bounce. Viliame Kikau then threw a speculative 25-yard no-look pass to hooker Reed Mahoney, who chipped the ball across the field for center Jacob Kiraz to catch with one hand before firing a pass to winger Jeral Skelton, who made it 16-0.

Broncos defender Reece Walsh got Brisbane back in the game after a scrum by beating Burton and Kikau with sheer speed, and then they had their own spectacular moment just before halftime when centre Kotoni Staggs received the ball 70m in front of a Mam grubber and ran to score.

But that was about all the hosts achieved. The Dogs began the second half like the first with an early try. Then two more four-pointers from Tracey and Kiraz continued Brisbane’s blitz and buried the Broncos.

At the start of the game, most of the talk was about whether the Bulldogs could stop Brisbane’s attacking threat. On Saturday, it couldn’t have been more of the opposite: Brisbane managed just two breakthroughs to the Bulldogs’ 11.