“He is big, athletic and strong” – Dan Norman tipped for bright future with St Helens

“He’s big, athletic and strong.”

Those were the words used by St Helens coach Kristian Woolf and prop Alex Walmsley when describing the club’s new recruit Dan Norman.

The 23-year-old prop has joined Super League’s reigning champions on a two-year deal from London Broncos.

Norman came through the ranks at Widnes, playing 20 games for the Vikings as well as enjoying a loan spell with North Wales Crusaders in 2018.

The Warrington-born front-rower, who stands at 6ft 5in and 113kg, moved to the capital in 2020 but only made five appearances for the Broncos due to the Championship season being cut short because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Norman has made a good impression on fellow prop Walmsley since arriving at the club over the off-season.

Walmsley said: “Dan has been great, I was really excited to see him when I came in and he is quite a specimen.

“He is big, athletic and strong. He’s got all the attributes what I’m sure will make him a great Super League player for us for years ahead.

“I’d like to think I’ve helped Dan as much as I can but he has come in and the greatest compliment I can give Dan is that he has come in and it doesn’t feel like he’s a young lad coming through.

“He’s played in the Championship and been at Widnes but he has stepped into our squad like a duck to water. He has really impressed and has got that eagerness, so I’m sure Dan will be great for this club over the next few years.”

Woolf has been impressed with Norman’s work ethic since he linked up with his new team-mates in pre-season training.

Woolf said: “He has come along really well. I’ve been really impressed with him.

“He’s big, strong and athletic and has got a lot of things that you just can’t coach.

“What I really like about him is on top of those things he has got a terrific work ethic as well. He shows that on the field, he shows that in the gym and he has shown that in every opportunity he has been given so far. For those reasons he is going to improve fast and I think he is going to do a really handy job for us at different times this year.

“When I say he is a project, what I mean by that is that we are definitely not going to get the finished product this year. Over the course of the year he is going to get better and better and what we are going to see is a much closer to finished project in 12 months’ time.

“He is going to be a good player and he is certainly going to give himself every chance because he wants to work hard.”

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