St George Illawarra playmaker Corey Norman is set to appeal his two-game suspension handed down by the NRL following a street brawl in Cronulla last month.
Norman and former Broncos player James Segeyaro were both involved in the altercation, with the pair claiming they were racially vilified by a group of strangers and provoked into the brawl.
The NRL has since handed Norman a two-game suspension, with the second match suspended should the 30-year-old remain on good behaviour.
According to Fox Sports' James Hooper, Norman will appeal the suspension in hope of playing against Cronulla on Sunday, March 14.
It is understood that Norman has paired with RLPA lawyer Adrian Turner in hope of being cleared of any wrongdoing, while the Dragons' five-eighth will also submit a written response to the NRL.
Norman has doubled down on his stance that both he and Segeyaro were defending themselves and the two women they were accompanied with.
The NRL also handed Norman a $20,000 fine as part of the breach notice, with league boss Andrew Abdo stating the league had taken in all considerations.
“We accept there was a degree of provocation which led to the incident, but as a game we have been very clear that provocation is not an excuse to engage in a street fight,’’ Abdo said, per The Daily Telegraph.
“Our players are role models for younger people in our community and they need to set the example for how to respond in such circumstances. We will always support our players who are subject to any form of abuse, but any form of violence is not an acceptable response.”