Eels Blogs

Parramatta superstar Corey Norman has had to live with the regret of a night out that he knows cost him the honour of captaining the club he's grown to love.

Through the deafening noise, it was the silence from coach Brad Arthur that rung loudest.

Corey Norman isn't afraid to tell his coach when he disagrees with him. Nor does Arthur fear telling his star playmaker when he's in the wrong.

So when news broke of the Parramatta five-eighth's arrest for drug possession last May, the magnitude of Norman's mistake became painstakingly clear when he fronted his coach.

"Brad didn't speak to me for quite a bit there," Norman told Fairfax Media.

"That's how disappointed he was in me. And he had every right to be like that because I let him down. I let my team down. I let my club down."

Eight weeks. That was the price to pay.

But in his heart of hearts, Norman knows the cost of that now regrettable night out at The Star is still adding up.

"It probably cost me the captaincy to be honest," Norman said.

"It's not a good look for the club or for Brad to have someone getting in trouble and missing that much footy and then in the new year becomes captain.

"Brad pulled me aside and had a bit of a chat to me. He told me Beauy [Beau Scott] and Timmy [Tim Mannah] were going to be co-captains. I was completely fine with that. I believe I don't need the 'c' next to my name to be a leader in this team."

Given the salary cap dramas that had brought the once proud club to its knees, Norman's indiscretion was the last thing Parramatta needed after having their premiership points stripped and their finals hopes dashed.

Norman was the shining light through it all – blossoming as a player who was suddenly demanding $850,000 a year for his services.

Then a nightmare stretch, which saw him convicted and hit with a $400 fine for drug possession, warned for consorting with criminals and caught in a sex tape, saw his value plunge as his reputation took a battering.

He forfeited close to $400,000 as part of a new three-year-deal with the club he went on to sign.

"It did cost me. I know that and it was the price I paid for what happened," Norman said of his contract.

"When that stuff comes up, the club has a bit of bargaining power. When it was all happening and I was still playing, I didn't talk to any other clubs. I just wanted to play football and let that do the talking.

"I love Parramatta. I love the players and I love the winning culture that Brad has brought here. Obviously I was on the market and could talk to other clubs but I was definitely going to stay loyal to Parramatta. I owed them for what they have done for me."

Those close to the 26-year-old will tell you Norman is the life of the party.

But there were times, especially when he first arrived in Sydney from Brisbane in 2014, when "the party" took up too much of life.

Arthur has made no secret of his attempts to keep Norman away from the temptations of the Sydney nightlife, a scene that is almost impossible to ignore for any single twenty-something.

But Norman is well aware of the reality that awaited him had he not been able to capitalise on his ability to cause havoc on a rugby league field, admitting he has made adjustments to his life to ensure he makes the most out of his career.

"I've changed," Norman said.

"I've learned to make better decisions. I wouldn't say I need to turn my life around 180 – I just need to make better choices and think about the consequences of what I'm doing before I do it. I put all my eggs in one basket when I was younger.

"I always thought I was going to play first grade and I'm lucky enough it came off because if it didn't I'd be a tradie of some sort. I would have left school earlier and got into the workforce. I'm just thankful and lucky I do something I love. If it was all to end tomorrow I would be happy that I got to fulfil my dream and hope I did my family proud."

With Jarryd Hayne in enemy colours, Kieran Foran now across the ditch and Semi Radradra about to walk out the door after this season, Norman finds himself the face of a club starving for success.

The Queenslander knows mediocrity will no longer be tolerated at a club that has instilled a win-at-all-costs mentality under the watch of Arthur.

Not only will he have to shoulder the burden of the unfamiliar No.7 jersey, he has to do so alongside a makeshift five-eighth in Clint Gutherson, only amplifying the significance of his performances to the outcome of Parramatta's season.

The guilt of sitting out the last eight weeks of 2016 and abandoning his teammates in the final months of the year from hell ate away at him.

But it has also fuelled the fire for a redemption story that he believes will lead the Eels back into the finals for the first time since 2009.

"It's not to prove to everyone else, it's to prove to ourselves that we had it and we've still got it," Norman said as he reflected on a tumultuous 2016 campaign.

"Everyone thought we were going to fold and come last. But even with our points taken off us, we turned up every week through all the drama and played well. I remember our first year when we had a couple of tries put on us we'd fold. I believe the last few years we haven't cracked.

"Last year we won games on the back of our defence and it's been a long time you could relate Parra to doing that. We know we have the attack, so if we stop the tries, we'll be playing at the back-end of the year."

"I believe we have the team do it and have this winning culture that they probably didn't have a few years ago. I want Parra to win. We need to be playing in the back-end of the year. It's been long enough now. It's now or never."

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/corey-norman-my-mistakes-cost-me-the-parramatta-eels-captaincy-20170219-gugk3r.html