Honest Corey Norman is ready to put two ‘s***’ seasons behind him
Dragons playmaker Corey Norman has opened up about a tough couple of years in the NRL, but with a full pre-season behind him he believes he can rip in and lead the club to greater heights.
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Corey Norman is hoping an entire pre-season with St George Illawarra will be the catalyst that ends the worst two seasons of his NRL career.
This time last year, Norman was preparing to rebound after a horror campaign with Parramatta that resulted in a wooden spoon.
Twelve months on and, after a sudden switch to the Dragons, Norman ended up on a team that finished just one rung off the bottom of the table. In two seasons, Norman has lost 28 of his 42 games.
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“I’m over losing. It’s not a good feeling,” Norman told AAP.
“I prepared myself for both situations, but it just didn’t work out. There was the Eels, and then we had a shocking season here as well at the Dragons.”
It’s why the 28-year-old has refused to reflect on the magnitude of finally cracking into the Queensland team for this year’s State of Origin series.
“Personally it was good for me with Origin, but at the end of the day I’ve come off two s*** seasons and it’s not good enough,” Norman said.
“I really need to rip in this season and make it happen next year.”
Completing an entire summer with his teammates should help.
The Dragons were forced to rush into signing Norman last December after being blindsided by Gareth Widdop’s plans to return to England at the end of this year.
It created an awkward conundrum for coach Paul McGregor, who suddenly had three halves in Widdop, Norman and Ben Hunt and just two spots.
Norman ended up playing half the season at fullback, but is now set for a return to his favoured five-eighth position following Widdop’s exit. He’s banking on the resolution to pay big dividends.
“I went fullback for a while there when Gareth came back as well. (But) that’s out of respect for Gareth. It was his team, he’s the captain,” Norman said.
“He’s been a tremendous five-eighth here for a very long time.
“But I’m set in stone in the halves and I concentrate on that. Consistency in the spine, and even in the team, is going to be a lot better than last season.”
Originally published as Honest Corey Norman is ready to put two ‘s***’ seasons behind him