Former NRL bad boy Corey Norman has vowed to finally step up as a leader at Parramatta with Queensland jerseys up for grabs this year.
Ahead of his ninth NRL season, Norman - 27 next week - admitted it was time to take ownership of the Eels and stake a Maroons halves claim.
Norman is in the mix to fill the void left by the representative retirement of Queensland halves Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk after being included in the Emerging Maroons squad on the Gold Coast this weekend.
The Parramatta playmaker said the penny finally dropped that it was time to become a leader after being named in his first Emerging Maroons squad.
"I think so. I have been working on that (becoming more dominant) the last couple of years," Norman said.
"(But) there are opportunities there now.
"There are a lot of boys who are going to be putting their hand up for those jerseys - I am looking forward to a big year."
There have been plenty of potential wake-up calls for Norman.
He copped an eight week NRL ban in 2016 over a range of indiscretions including two drug convictions - later overturned - and a police warning for consorting with criminals.
Asked if there had been a lightbulb moment when he realised he had to step up, Norman said: "That's a hard one - I know what you were trying to get at (2016 ban).
"But nah. I have always wanted to do this and play at this (Origin) level, it's just that I have now got the opportunity."
Newly-appointed Maroons assistant Josh Hannay looked forward to seeing Norman push his case.
"He's at an age where he is ready to be that leader, the main man at his club Parramatta, and I think it will be exciting this year to see how he handles that," he said.
"He has got the talent. But with a bit of maturity he could really jump out of the pack and have a great start to the year."
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