On Sunday, returning from a suspension that began last July, the only thing he could be accused of consorting with was the Manly try line. The only trouble he caused was for Manly.

Much is expected from Parramatta's halfback and if his round-one performance on a gloomy afternoon on Sydney's northern beaches is any indication, there is reason to believe he can deliver.

Norman scored an individual try, threw the last pass in another, produced a freakish 40-20 and had the ball on a string with a clinical kicking game that backed the Sea Eagles into a corner from which they could not find an escape.

The result was a clear points victory over his opposite number, Manly's captain Daly Cherry-Evans, and a sixth consecutive win over the Sea Eagles before a crowd of 11,318. What's more, he should only get better, conceding afterwards that he was very much short of fitness.

"I was out on my feet," Norman said. "I know I have to gradually get back my fitness. I knew I was going to be a bit rusty today. There is no rush."

There certainly isn't when he can conjure a display like this anyway.

Like Norman, Eels coach Brad Arthur was typically understated about his No.7.

"Yeah, he was good, but I thought he was out on his feet," Arthur said. "He's going to get better for us. He's not real happy with how he played. That's good that he's setting high expectations. He definitely made a difference for us." 

Sunday's match marked the beginning of new eras for these fierce old rivals. Manly began life without Jamie Lyon, Steve Matai and Brett Stewart, the record try-scorer at their newly named tribal home, Lottoland. Parramatta started a season for the first time in years without the shadow of dysfunction eating away at them and after picking up the pieces from last season's salary cap crisis.

In the position occupied for a decade by Matai, the highly touted newcomer Brian Kelly enjoyed an ideal start to his NRL career, opening the scoring with a strong run to the line in only the seventh minute. If that was a nice introduction, the Junior Kangaroos rep was later given another more brutal welcome when he raced clear and seemed on course to cross for a second try. The outstanding Semi Radradra had other ideas, reeling Kelly in, flattening him from behind and instigating a loose ball for good measure.

If Kelly won't forget the sound of Radradra's footsteps, Manly's hitman-in-chief Martin Taupau could also hear more from another bruising moment in the first half when he floored Eels prop Suaia Matagi. Taupau's tackle appeared suspiciously close to constituting a shoulder charge and is likely to be analysed closely by the match review committee.

Parramatta had hit the front via Norman's grubber and chase after 11 minutes and extended their advantage thanks to Manu Ma'u's brilliant pass out the back to fullback Bevan French. Clint Gutherson, the former Manly winger and Norman's halves partner, then crossed with 27 minutes left and despite a late try to Manly's new five-eighth Blake Green, the Eels were never likely to be headed from there as they camped at the Sea Eagles' end at length.

"We went into this game a little bit underdone," Arthur said. "We didn't play a lot of minutes throughout the trials with a lot of our key players. Corey Norman and Gutho hadn't played together, Normy hasn't played since round 17. We've got a lot to work on but to complete at 82 per cent and grind out a win was great."