With Gareth Widdop (shoulder), Korbin Sims (broken arm) and Jack de Belin (stood down) already out of action, Norman is looking at an extended stint on the sideline after suffering a suspected broken cheekbone.

In his first match against his former club Norman was booed throughout by the blue and gold faithful - who seemingly forgot it was he who was forced out of the Eels and not the other way around.

They got the last laugh regardless, with Norman forced from the field 12 minutes after halftime after he was leveled by Maika Sivo as he threw the final pass for a try to Mikaele Ravalawa.

Coach Paul McGregor joked he would need to google the estimated recovery time for Norman but couldn't hide is disappointment at the blow in the post-match.

"Corey's got either a fractured or broken cheekbone. It's probably 4-6 weeks one would think, " McGregor said.

"With Gareth out, Jack not available and Korbin out, to now have Tyson and Normy [injured]... yeah it's not great. We're obviously missing some key people.

"When you lose players of the calibre we're losing that's the hard part to manage. You're always going to get injuries and suspensions in your game because we play that type of footy, it's a gladitorial sport.

"It's the calibre of players we're missing, multiple players of that type of talent. The experience and learning the [other] guys are getting out there is valuable but we've still got to win games of footy so we can be in a position to compete at the top end at the back end of the year.

"But I've always said 17 players take the field and get an opportunity. We'll put 17 out there next week with a point to prove coming off back to back losses."

Youngster Jai Field shapes as the likely replacement for Norman, though McGregor admitted he was yet to give it much thought.

"Jai's been our 18th man the last four or five weeks and he's playing some good footy in reserve grade so more than likely young Jai Field," he said.

Frizell was also nursing an eye that was swollen shut at fulltime after suffering a poke from Eels back-rower Shaun Lane 10 minutes into the match.

He left the field for an HIA and was clearly still hampered when he returned, spilling the ball at his own end with his side leading 14-0 six minutes before halftime.

It opened the door for Reed Mahoney to barge across from dummy-half in the next set, setting in motion a five tries to one onslaught.

The prognosis was more positive on the star back-rower, but McGregor said the second half was a disappointing effort regardless of the injury concerns.

"Tyson obviously copped one in the eye and there's a bit of blurred vision and a cut there," McGregor said.

"We'll just wait and see. He came back on the field when we were 14-0 up and he probably wasn't 100 per cent. He turned ball over and we let that soft try in just before halftime.

"That second 40 was disappointing. To start the second half and let a team roll up the field on you, get out of dummy-half around halfway and run the length isn't good enough.

"Before that, prior to halftime, a guy getting out from dummy-half and putting the ball down pretty much untouched isn't good enough for this footy team.

"We brought it back to 18-all and then we lost Normy and we didn't handle errors, penalties, 50-50 calls... we just didn't show enough of our standards when we got put under that pressure.

"We had an opportunity in that second half where we brought it back to 18-all but we just didn't finish it off."

The Dragons led 14-0 after 35 minutes but trailed by four just seven minutes into the second stanza after a three-try blitz from the hosts either side of the break.

Clint Gutherson and Maika Sivo followed up Mahoney's try just before the break with long range efforts in the first five minutes after the resumption to lead 18-14.

Ravalawa crossing out wide for an equaliser six minutes later but Blake Ferguson retook momentum, out-leaping Pereira to reel in a kick from Moses in the Dragons in-goal.

He got even more air in his celebratory back flip, with Sivo's second try nine minutes from fulltime sealing the deal.

It came after the Dragons produced an early contender for try of the season, started by Ravalawa deep in his own end and finished by Dufty under the black dot.

Jordan Pereira, Norman and Tim Lafai all had touches in between for the try that gave the visitors a handy 14-0 lead seven minutes before halftime.

It followed up Ben Hunt's 26th minute four-pointer - off a deft dummy-half kick from Cam McInnes - and gave the visitors all the momentum before Frizell's error opened the door for Mahoney's try.

It sees the Dragons slip to 4-4 and needing a win over the Warriors in next week's Magic Round in Brisbane to stay in touch with the top four.