Corey Norman??

[blacksafake]

There are low iq eels fans who like to scapegoat players like Norman of course, but I know of many many more who are extremely unhappy this is happening. They want Moses gone, not Norman

Agree
I have friends who are long suffering eels supporters & what they are hearing is when Arthur went hard for Moses he told him he was the main man which inflated his already large ego. Which in turn caused friction between him & Norman. A lot of their supporters apparently would prefer Moses left.

 

[Twenty10]

If you are correct, everything Widdop said last week will be blatant lies.
Hoping you are wrong, mate.

Totally agree... for mine surely he cannot go. Just had several different people say it...

 

[Brutalitops]

• When Hayne first met with Dragons officials, he was typically Hayne Plane-like when it came to which position he would play. "I’ll be playing fullback with you guys,” he told them.

• When Norman met with them, he humbly offered this: “I can’t do anything with you guys unless Gareth Widdop and Ben Hunt are comfortable with me being here.”

Geez this is great to hear. Very glad we got Norman instead of Hayne, that is a fantastic attitude

 

[Brutalitops]

• When Hayne first met with Dragons officials, he was typically Hayne Plane-like when it came to which position he would play. "I’ll be playing fullback with you guys,” he told them.

• When Norman met with them, he humbly offered this: “I can’t do anything with you guys unless Gareth Widdop and Ben Hunt are comfortable with me being here.”

Geez this is great to hear. Very glad we got Norman instead of Hayne, that is a fantastic attitude

That article also seems to confirm Widdop will be moving to fullback and Norman into 5/8

 

[Mr Red]

That article also seems to confirm Widdop will be moving to fullback and Norman into 5/8

Norman to 6 is the logical option given how good Widdop is as a fullback, and the fact he’s leaving.
Dragons have shown their hand in buying Norman hoping he’s the long term solution at 6 so might as well get him in there immediately.

 

[Fat Tony Kandos]

 

[blacksafake]

• When Hayne first met with Dragons officials, he was typically Hayne Plane-like when it came to which position he would play. "I’ll be playing fullback with you guys,” he told them.

• When Norman met with them, he humbly offered this: “I can’t do anything with you guys unless Gareth Widdop and Ben Hunt are comfortable with me being here.”

Geez this is great to hear. Very glad we got Norman instead of Hayne, that is a fantastic attitude

Wow
Did these statements really happen.
I’m impressed with Norman’s comment

 

[ViceVersa]

How $20,000 could derail Corey Norman's move to Dragons
By Andrew Webster & Christian Nicolussi
15 December 2018 — 8:03pm

Corey Norman said goodbye to his Parramatta teammates at training on Friday – even though a dispute with the club over a mere $20,000 threatens to derail his move to St George Illawarra.

The Sun-Herald can reveal Norman’s three-year deal with the Dragons isn’t yet done, with the Eels refusing to budge on how much of his contract for next season they are prepared to pay.

Norman has been telling teammates and close friends he has been granted a release, prompting reports that his move to the Dragons had be finalised. In truth, it has not.

These are the figures at play.

The 27-year-old playmaker is contracted to the Eels for $940,000 next season. The Dragons salary cap is so tight for 2019 they can only pay him $510,000, despite releasing Kurt Mann to Newcastle. They can afford to pay Norman $800,000 in 2020.

Norman wanted the Eels to pay $300,000 for him to play elsewhere next year and argued this was a fair amount considering the club has been shopping him around for the past five months to other clubs.

A swap with disillusioned Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson was mooted, but he ultimately signed with the Sharks instead.

The Eels compromised and have now offered to pay $250,000. Norman wants $270,000 and is standing firm.

While the Dragons expect Norman to be their five-eighth next year, nothing is going to happen until the stand-off with Parramatta ends.

Parramatta head of football Mark O’Neill was not prepared to comment on the finances involved in the deal, but told The Sun-Herald: "As we speak right now, Corey Norman remains contracted to Parramatta.''

Bizarrely, Norman said his farewells to his teammates at training on Friday. Earlier this week, Eels coach Brad Arthur made it clear that Mitchell Moses would be their preferred playmaker in 2019.

The Dragons are not commenting because they say the impasse is between Norman and Parramatta, not them. Norman’s manager, Paul Sutton, is on holidays in Bali.

As the Herald reported on Friday, the Dragons want Norman to play in the No.6 jumper alongside his former Broncos teammate and halfback Ben Hunt with captain Gareth Widdop to shift to fullback.

The Dragons’ pursuit of Norman has been met with mixed emotions from their fans. Last season’s regular fullback, Matt Dufty, might be moved out to the wing – or he might want to leave the club altogether when moved from his preferred role.

Norman also has a chequered off-field past. He is on his final warning at the Eels after being fined $20,000 in May for drinking alcohol while injured.

Despite this, Norman is considered by many in the game as a rough diamond. He is also an abundantly gifted footballer who, when he has his head right, is a devastating half. He also gives the Dragons the important option of having a laser-sharp left-foot kicker.

Should Norman’s move to the Dragons happen, it might not necessarily be the end of the player movements for 2019. The Eels will have about $600,000 to spend on another player if they release Norman.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/ho...norman-s-move-to-dragons-20181215-p50mgr.html

 

[ouryears]

How $20,000 could derail Corey Norman's move to Dragons
By Andrew Webster & Christian Nicolussi
15 December 2018 — 8:03pm

Corey Norman said goodbye to his Parramatta teammates at training on Friday – even though a dispute with the club over a mere $20,000 threatens to derail his move to St George Illawarra.

The Sun-Herald can reveal Norman’s three-year deal with the Dragons isn’t yet done, with the Eels refusing to budge on how much of his contract for next season they are prepared to pay.

Norman has been telling teammates and close friends he has been granted a release, prompting reports that his move to the Dragons had be finalised. In truth, it has not.

These are the figures at play.

The 27-year-old playmaker is contracted to the Eels for $940,000 next season. The Dragons salary cap is so tight for 2019 they can only pay him $510,000, despite releasing Kurt Mann to Newcastle. They can afford to pay Norman $800,000 in 2020.

Norman wanted the Eels to pay $300,000 for him to play elsewhere next year and argued this was a fair amount considering the club has been shopping him around for the past five months to other clubs.

A swap with disillusioned Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson was mooted, but he ultimately signed with the Sharks instead.

The Eels compromised and have now offered to pay $250,000. Norman wants $270,000 and is standing firm.

While the Dragons expect Norman to be their five-eighth next year, nothing is going to happen until the stand-off with Parramatta ends.

Parramatta head of football Mark O’Neill was not prepared to comment on the finances involved in the deal, but told The Sun-Herald: "As we speak right now, Corey Norman remains contracted to Parramatta.''

Bizarrely, Norman said his farewells to his teammates at training on Friday. Earlier this week, Eels coach Brad Arthur made it clear that Mitchell Moses would be their preferred playmaker in 2019.

The Dragons are not commenting because they say the impasse is between Norman and Parramatta, not them. Norman’s manager, Paul Sutton, is on holidays in Bali.

As the Herald reported on Friday, the Dragons want Norman to play in the No.6 jumper alongside his former Broncos teammate and halfback Ben Hunt with captain Gareth Widdop to shift to fullback.

The Dragons’ pursuit of Norman has been met with mixed emotions from their fans. Last season’s regular fullback, Matt Dufty, might be moved out to the wing – or he might want to leave the club altogether when moved from his preferred role.

Norman also has a chequered off-field past. He is on his final warning at the Eels after being fined $20,000 in May for drinking alcohol while injured.

Despite this, Norman is considered by many in the game as a rough diamond. He is also an abundantly gifted footballer who, when he has his head right, is a devastating half. He also gives the Dragons the important option of having a laser-sharp left-foot kicker.

Should Norman’s move to the Dragons happen, it might not necessarily be the end of the player movements for 2019. The Eels will have about $600,000 to spend on another player if they release Norman.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/ho...norman-s-move-to-dragons-20181215-p50mgr.html

Amazing that some of us on here for years have been saying Widdop is a FB, not a 5/8, and have been told to shut up.
Well for those who refused to believe Widdop should have never been our 5/8, eat humble pie, finally common sense, fullback it is.

And don’t blame his shoulder, have a look at Cronk, he played a GF busted and he will be back at No 7, finally the club realises Widdop is not the play maker we need.

And it’s got Nothing to do with Widdop leaving at end of 2019, Norman does not need 12 months practice at number 6, this is the club finally owning up to the teams current shortcomings.

 

[Brutalitops]

Amazing that some of us on here for years have been saying Widdop is a FB, not a 5/8, and have been told to shut up.

And it’s got Nothing to do with Widdop leaving at end of 2019, Norman does not need 12 months practice at number 6, this is the club finally owning up to the teams current shortcomings.

Absolutely incorrect. Why would the club suddenly make this realisation coming off some blatant evidence at how important Widdop is in the halves where he cemented himself as the best 5/8 in the world last year and was amazing the top this year?

If Norman was not coming Widdop would not be fullback, it's a simple as that. It's about prioritising our long term halves pairing as well as the fact that Norman at fullback is just not desirable, whereas Widdop an perform at both

This is all classic confirmation bias. Widdop is the best 5/8 at our club, even with Norman, but Norman is more valuable to us in the halves with a great fullback in Widdop than the other way around.

 

[Brutalitops]

Gareth Widdop, through every single objective measure there is, that means statistically, defensively and offensively, has been among the best 5/8s in the world for a few years now. You literally cannot argue with statistics

Comparing Widdop to Cronks GF appearance is completely pointless, as you can't compare a break in an arm to a twice dislocated shoulder which took over an hour to pop back in. Nobody, not even Cronk, would have played on with Widdops injury.

 

[ouryears]

Absolutely incorrect. Why would the club suddenly make this realisation coming off some blatant evidence at how important Widdop is in the halves where he cemented himself as the best 5/8 in the world last year and was amazing the top this year?

If Norman was not coming Widdop would not be fullback, it's a simple as that. It's about prioritising our long term halves pairing as well as the fact that Norman at fullback is just not desirable, whereas Widdop an perform at both

This is all classic confirmation bias. Widdop is the best 5/8 at our club, even with Norman, but Norman is more valuable to us in the halves with a great fullback in Widdop than the other way around.

Of course he has been the best 5/8 at our club, there has been no other half decent signing for 5/8, but finally we have a half decent one in Norman, and within 5 seconds Widdop is moved to FB as he should have been years ago......with a decent 5/8 also signed years ago.

The fact is we have done nothing in the past 5 years, we have missed the finals or scraped into them, we have been smashed from pillar to post in many games, as well as not closing out games we should have won.

We blame Mary, sure, however, Widdop has been a part of this era, as our 5/8 and captain, it ain’t all Mary.

He was 5/8 because the club didn’t get a decent one to put there, but as soon as we have one, exit Widdop to FB. Therein lies the truth. I don’t like Widdop as 5/8, never have, I am not going to lie about it.

 

[Miller was a legend]

Of course he has been the best 5/8 at our club, there has been no other half decent signing for 5/8, but finally we have a half decent one in Norman, and within 5 seconds Widdop is moved to FB as he should have been years ago......with a decent 5/8 also signed years ago.

The fact is we have done nothing in the past 5 years, we have missed the finals or scraped into them, we have been smashed from pillar to post in many games, as well as not closing out games we should have won.

We blame Mary, sure, however, Widdop has been a part of this era, as our 5/8 and captain, it ain’t all Mary.

He was 5/8 because the club didn’t get a decent one to put there, but as soon as we have one, exit Widdop to FB. Therein lies the truth. I don’t like Widdop as 5/8, never have, I am not going to lie about it.

Where does Widdop play for England?

Maybe that alt of yours can back you up on this

 

[Brutalitops]

Where does Widdop play for England?

Maybe that alt of yours can back you up on this

I'm sure he'll just deflect to Widdop playing 3 games at fullback because of injury and ignore the million others

 

[hewi]

If he doesn’t come for $10,000 a year after tax then in all due respect I don’t want him.

 

[Coffs dragon]

I wouldn't be sad if the deal fell thru and we can keep Duff Man at No.1

 

[Crush]

If he doesn’t come for $10,000 a year after tax then in all due respect I don’t want him.

Or we could all chip in a hundred bucks and donate the money as forum members?
I'd chuck in a hundred to see Norman and Hunt run out as our halves.....

 

[Crush]

I wouldn't be sad if the deal fell thru and we can keep Duff Man at No.1

Yeah I am a bit unhappy about talk of Duff moving out of the 1 spot. I just feel he offers so much spark and flair to our attack. If they move Widdop to 1 though it'll be a bloody potent ballplaying option when he comes into the line on the attack. Imagine having Norman, Hunt and Widdop coming at you in defense!

 

[Saints Forever]

If he doesn’t come for $10,000 a year after tax then in all due respect I don’t want him.

Agree wholeheartedly with Hewi

Let’s see, what would a rational guy do, accept $10k nett less and play with a premiership contender, or stay put at a place he is unwanted and dream of another wooden spoon?

Some of these dudes are so shortsighted.

 

[Coffs dragon]

Yeah I am a bit unhappy about talk of Duff moving out of the 1 spot. I just feel he offers so much spark and flair to our attack. If they move Widdop to 1 though it'll be a bloody potent ballplaying option when he comes into the line on the attack. Imagine having Norman, Hunt and Widdop coming at you in defense!

Something doesn't seem to add up IMO, when the club & players have backed Dufty to be the fullback and have denied he's been shopped.
If and when the Norman signing is announced, I'd expect things may hot up with the Widdop rumours & UK offers. Where there's smoke there's usually fire and it's only been left to Gaz Widdop to personally extinguish the blaze.
Mary has been very quiet in voicing any opinion so far. IMO I think the club will release Widdop in 2019 to head to the UK with the usual spin being we felt it was in his best interest to secure his long term future. Time will tell!