Parramatta coach Brad Arthur has warned his troops about expecting star half Corey Norman's return to equate to a quick fix.
Norman has recovered from a hamstring injury and will return to NRL action against Cronulla on Saturday night, setting up a possible showdown against good mate James Segeyaro.
After missing last week's loss to Gold Coast, Norman has trained with the Eels squad all week and Arthur said he was a certainty to take on the premiers at ANZ Stadium.
While Norman's spark and vision were missed as the Eels were run down by an under-manned Titans, Arthur warned their problems ran deeper and his return wouldn't be a panacea.
"We missed his kicking game and he's a class player but at the end of the day, after you complete 10 straight sets and then complete at around 60 per cent for the rest of the game, I don't know if he could have done much there," Arthur said.
"If we're not getting to the last tackle, his kicking game wouldn't be any good to us anyway."
In another boost for the Eels, they have avoided a possible dummy-half crisis with Kaysa Pritchard cleared of an ankle problem.
The match could pit Norman against his former housemate Segeyaro, who this week signed with the Sharks after securing a release from English club Leeds.
The Sharks were on Friday keeping their cards close to their chests with coach Shane Flanagan refusing to divulge whether Segeyaro would make his club debut.
Norman and Segeyaro have a chequered history together and last year the pair were warned by police under consorting laws after they were pictured dining with known criminals.
Eels No.7 Norman was subsequently suspended for eight weeks for a string of offences, including his involvement in a sex tape scandal that featured Segeyaro.
After Segeyaro walked out on his contract with Leeds in the off-season, Norman attempted to recruit his good mate to the Eels with the No.9 meeting club officials.
The match will be the Eels' first home game at ANZ Stadium as Parramatta Stadium undergoes redevelopment.
Both teams are driven to bounce back after turning in ordinary performances in last-start losses.
Flanagan warned his side would continue to be on the wrong end of the scoreboard if they persist in making fundamental errors like they did against St George Illawarra.
"Once again we killed ourselves," Flanagan said.
"Too many errors with the football, seventh tackle sets, kicking out on the full; the Dragons did what they needed to do to win.
"But it's what we did to ourselves - we had to defend for too long, we looked sluggish and lethargic. We just didn't give ourselves a chance."
STATS THAT MATTER
* The Eels are ranked equal first in the NRL for linebreaks. They also concede the least amount of metres per game (1081m).
* The Sharks are missing the second equal most tackles per game (35.7 along with the Cowboys).
* Eels winger Semi Radradra requires one try to equal club legend Eric Grothe Snr in eighth place (65 tries) on Parramatta's all-time try scorer's list.
Share
