Norton-Knight moved to Cardiff hoping to become a fly-half

Coach Dai Young says Sam Norton-Knight is "very unlikely" to remain with the Cardiff Blues next season.

"It's his call to look at pastures new, the decision is still being made so it's not for me to say if he will stay or go," said Young.

The two-cap Australia utility back has struggled since his arrival last summer and the Blues will have Dan Parks and Ben Blair in his favoured positions.

Norton-Knight has been out for two weeks with a back disc problem.

Young says he is still at least a week off fitness, making him a major doubt for next week's Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-final at Newcastle.

606: DEBATE Give your thoughts on Young's comments

The 26-year-old Australian arrived in Wales stating that the chance to play at fly-half had motivated the move, Norton-Knight having played much of his New South Wales Waratahs rugby at 15.

But he endured a nightmare debut against Edinburgh and has faced widespread criticism of his ability as a stand-off controller.

The Blues responded quickly by moving for Scotland fly-half Dan Parks, who will join from Glasgow in the summer.

That could help facilitate the exit of Norton-Knight, who may explore the options in his homeland.

Opportunities are likely to arise in Australia as they launch a fifth regional team next season, a new Melbourne-based franchise to compete in the expanded Super 15 in 2011.

"There are no guarantees Sam would want to stay or we would want to keep him," Young told the Scrum V Radio show in February.

"[Norton-Knight's position is] under review from both parties.

"It hasn't quite worked out the way both parties would have liked at the end of the day.

"It's an ongoing decision for Sam as well as us to commit to each other.

"From our point of view, we've brought a player from the other side of the world and we're not going to discard him.

"That's not our style and I'm sure he's a better player than he's demonstrating at the minute.

"We've got [full-back] Ben Blair and Dan Parks, so Sam's obviously going to be up against it next season.

"But that's not to say he's not prepared to stick it out and fight.

"Being the quality player that he is, Sam is attracting interest from other parties, certainly back in Australia.

"It could be that he may decide that's the right avenue for him."

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