Norman move a no-no

Gold Coast rule out poaching Keebra product

COREY Norman’s bad-boy reputation has cost the out-of-favour Parramatta playmaker any hope of a big-money move to the Gold Coast Titans.

Norman has been secretly shopped to the Titans, with the Eels prepared to subsidise the former Bronco’s return to Queensland after a series of off-field dramas.

Norman’s agent has held informal talks with Titans coach Garth Brennan to gauge the prospect of the 27-year-old moving to the Gold Coast.

On talent alone, Brennan would be prepared to sign Norman but the Titans have torpedoed a possible lifeline due to the five-eighth’s chequered past.

Norman was fined $20,000 a fortnight ago for drinking alcohol while injured, which came two years after the onetime Origin hopeful was embroiled in a sex-tape scandal.

Titans hierarchy are determined to cultivate a squeakyclean image following the club’s cocaine drama in 2015 and believe Norman is not the right fit for their club.

Another impediment is Norman’s salary at Parramatta, believed to be around $900,000-a-season, a wage the Titans cannot afford under their salary cap for 2019, even with an Eels subsidy.

“Based on our current roster commitments and our recent acquisitions of players like Tyrone Peachey and Shannon Boyd, our cap and budget projections over the next few years don’t provide the capacity for a player like Corey to be part of our plans,” Titans boss Graham Annesley said.

A Beenleigh Lions junior, Norman was a teenage sensation at Keebra Park High on the Gold Coast before being snapped up by Broncos scouts.

After steering the Eels to the top four last season, Norman was considered an Origin contender but Parramatta’s shock free fall this year has seen him fall off the Maroons’ selection radar.

Brennan confirmed he had been offered the services of Norman but said a Gold Coast lifeline was slim.