Parramatta‘s preseason trouble as five-eighth Jaeman Salmon to face drink driving charge, while St George Illawarra eye Corey Norman
Paul Crawley, The Daily Telegraph
December 5, 2018 7:49pm
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Parramatta coach Brad Arthur could go from having an abundance of halves options for next year to being at sixes and sevens for the start of the 2019 NRL season.
Young gun five-eighth Jaeman Salmon is likely to face a ban that will cost him his shot at getting the jump on owning the No.6 jumper after he was charged with low range drink driving following an accident in October.
And there is renewed speculation that St George Illawarra are still courting Norman to fill the the spot Jarryd Hayne was initially targeted for.
Jaeman Salmon’s charge will hit his early season. (AAP Image/Brendan Esposito)
It could create the chance for teenage star Dylan Brown to make his NRL debut. He was linked to the New Zealand Warriors last week as a potential replacement for Shaun Johnson.
Salmon allegedly hit three parked cars before rolling his Jeep Cherokee on its roof and ultimately stopping southbound traffic in Miranda.
The nineteen-year-old will face court in January and if found guilty will almost certainly miss the start of the NRL season, with a precedent set where NRL clubs have enforced a match suspension for a similar charge.
Meanwhile, Norman’s future at the club remains up in the air.
The Dragons might not meet Norman‘s price. (Zak Simmonds)
It’s no secret the Eels have been trying to offload either Norman or Mitchell Moses in recent months but so far they haven’t been able to find a buyer.
While the Dragons are interested in Norman, he is on a contract worth about $940,000 at Parramatta for 2019.
To make this deal happen, the Dragons would need the Eels to cough up a fair whack.
It is understood the Dragons had around $550,000 of salary cap space available for Hayne.
While Norman would be prepared to cop a haircut to secure a longer term deal at the Dragons, the discrepancy is just too much unless the Eels come to the party.
The Dragons were keen to sign Norman before he committed to his last contract at Parramatta.
Given recent developments surrounding Gareth Widdop’s future, Norman could potentially fill the void.
Widdop has been open with the Dragons that he wants to return to England to finish his career in the Super League but has given a commitment it won’t be before the end of 2019.
Another season, another Eels drama unfolding. (Richard Dobson)
Norman could play in the halves or at fullback, as could Widdop if this deal was to eventuate.
The Dragons are adamant they do not want to get rid of young fullback Matt Dufty but there is no doubting Norman’s footballing ability would add to the overall depth of the roster.
The other factor in this is that Newcastle are still chasing Kurt Mann but so far the Dragons have been reluctant to release Mann until they can secure a quality replacement.
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