[3][4] Lam had a fertile career with 14 State of Origin football matches for Queensland, including a man-of-the-match performance in the third game of the 1995 series.

He made his Test début for Papua New Guinea in 1994 and went on to win 11 caps, scoring 3 tries and kicking 1 field goal.

In June 2007 he was appointed inaugural coach of the new QRL Wizard Queensland Cup Northern Pride team based in Cairns.

[10] In round 20 of the 2021 Super League season, Wigan were defeated at the DW Stadium by St Helens 2-26 under Lam's coaching.

[16] On 3 October 2022, Lam coached Leigh in their Million Pound Game victory over Batley which saw the club promoted back to the Super League.

Lam achieved the double in his first full season as Leigh coach as the club also won the RFL 1895 Cup.

[17] On 12 August 2023, Lam guided Leigh to victory in the 2023 Challenge Cup final against Hull Kingston Rovers.

His son Lachlan Lam is a professional rugby player, who represents Papua New Guinea and plays for the Leigh Leopards.

In 2010 a court ordered former State of Origin teammate Dale Shearer to repay approximately $1.5m to Lam for an outstanding loan, which dated back to 2005.