BY CURTIS WOODWARD

Who the hell is Kieran Foran? Parramatta’s new halves combination left the forgettable Foran era at the Eels in their dust as Corey Norman and Clint Gutherson dismantled Manly on Sunday.

But it was their reaction post-game that would have Eels fans licking their lips with the pair conceding they had plenty of improvement left in them.

Parramatta opened up their 2017 campaign with a 20-12 victory over the Sea Eagles on Sunday in Norman and Gutherson’s debut as a pairing in the famous blue and gold six and seven.

Norman opened the scoring when he grubbered for himself close to the Eagles try line and later had a try assist when Gutherson went over. Norman also kicked a miracle 40/20 prior to their second try.

However it wasn’t just the finesse the duo showed that would have made coach Brad Arthur happy. The Eels kept Manly to under 40% possession for the match.

“We clicked there but we’re still a bit rusty,” Norman said.

“It was very good but in saying that we’ve got a lot to improve on.”

Gutherson echoed his partner’s sentiment.

“I’m still learning the position,” he said.

“I’ve still got a bit of work to do with Norms. That will come in the next few rounds.”

FULL-TIME! @TheParraEels prove too strong in the end, taking out their first game of the season 20-12. #NRLManlyEels #9WWOS pic.twitter.com/bKicKObgx6

— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) March 5, 2017

Corey Norman is such a classy player,but gee I'm a huge fan of @ClintGutherson .He is just pure footballer. @TheParraEels #NRLManlyEels

— Andrew Voss (@AndrewVossy) March 5, 2017

That 40/20 from Norman! 👏#NRLManlyEels #NRL pic.twitter.com/8DF0UYsXbP

— NRL (@NRL) March 5, 2017

Norman hadn’t played since July last year when he was suspended from playing for a number of off-field incidents which may have cost him his maiden Dally M Medal.

“We went into this game a little bit underdone. We didn’t play a lot of minutes throughout the trials with a lot of our key players,” Arthur said post-match.

“Corey Norman and ‘Gutho’ haven’t played together; Normy hasn’t played since Round 18 so we’ve got a lot to work on but just to complete at 82 per cent and turn up defensively and grind out a win was pleasing.

“They had a lot of training pre-season with them together but then after Christmas we only had a couple of weeks then some of them are getting ready to play Nines, some of them are getting ready to play in a trial in Alice Springs so their preparation wasn’t great but they’re going to get better.

“It will be a little bit better next week. It’s going to take time but we’re going to persist with it and Corey Norman hasn’t got any match fitness at the moment so he was seeing things and he just couldn’t get there.”

Manly’s new half Blake Green scored a late try for the home side but it wouldn’t be enough to stop the Eels who deservedly took the two competition points.

It sets up a cracking round two showdown against arch rivals St George Illawarra in Wollongong on Sunday night who started the new season with a bang flogging the Penrith Panthers.

The embattled Saints turned the clock back at Kogarah putting 40 points on a shocked Panthers outfit.

Norman and Gutherson’s battle against the rejuvenated Gareth Widdop will go a long way to deciding the outcome of the contest.

@woodward_curtis