been to jail? cant get a job? juiced up on roids? just play NRL!!!
Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 1:40 pm
NRL season 2015: Danny Wicks set to be officially registered as an Eel after serving jail term
PARRAMATTA recruit Danny Wicks is set to have his contract with the NRL officially registered in the next month, capping one of rugby league’s most unlikely comebacks.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Wicks’ one-year deal will be rubber stamped early in the New Year, more than three years after he was jailed for trafficking drugs.
It’s understood the ex-Dragons and Knights prop will have strict conditions on his contract, with any off-field slip-up to effectively end his final chance in the game.
Wicks was sentenced to a maximum of three years in jail in September, 2011, after being charged with eight drug-related offences and pleading guilty to another three counts of supply.
The NRL’s ban ended in September, allowing Parramatta and the NRL to spend the past three months sorting through the finer details of his new deal.
The process is on the verge of being completed, giving Wicks the green light to make a return to a rugby league career that his manager Steve Gillis said was effectively over when Wicks was sentenced.
“He’s unlikely to return to professional sport and I would be very surprised if he ever plays again,’’ Gillis told Newcastle District Court in September, 2011.
Gillis on Wednesday told The Daily Telegraph that Wicks has been working extremely hard at training since June in a bid to resurrect his career.
“Danny has been training with the team and was in rehab with a hamstring injury prior to the break, but he is going well,” Gillis said.
“He doesn’t have a contract registered with the NRL, but we are hoping to have it sorted in the next two to four weeks hopefully.”
Parramatta Chairman Steve Sharp has been highly impressed with Wicks’ application and attitude since linking with the club.
Sharp said the Eels were prepared to give the barnstorming bookend another shot despite his troubled past.
“It’s probably his last chance,” Sharp said.
“He knows he has done something wrong by society.
“So to get the opportunity again is something he probably never expected.
“But we have been showing him the path and we are happy to help people if they are prepared to help themselves.
“It will probably take him a bit of time to get back into the swing of things being out of the game for four years, but he is ticking all the right boxes at the moment.
“He is keeping his mind on the job 100 per cent and from having spoken to him a few times, he really wants to be successful and is really appreciate of the club giving him that opportunity.”
Wicks lost around 20kg during his stint in Glen Innes jail, but the Grafton-born prop has since added significant bulk to his frame.
Sharp revealed how the 29-year-old has dominated pre-season testing thus far.
Danny Wicks celebrates after scoring a remarkable try against the Roosters.
Danny Wicks celebrates after scoring a remarkable try against the Roosters.
“Danny’s training has been exceptional,” he said.
“Even before he came down for the official training session, our coaching staff had been in contact with him up there to check on his fitness levels.
“They gave him a program and he met all the targets and he exceeded them.
“I know the coaching staff is excited about what Danny can produce this year.
“He has been working really hard, especially given he has been out of society for a couple of years.
“He only had limited access to training facilities, but he has just taken everything by the scruff of the neck and gone with it.
“He has been fantastic and his results in all the testing have been well above average.
“Danny has also put on a bit of weight and size, while still maintaining that speed he had before, which was exceptional for a big fella.”
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 7171441014
PARRAMATTA recruit Danny Wicks is set to have his contract with the NRL officially registered in the next month, capping one of rugby league’s most unlikely comebacks.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Wicks’ one-year deal will be rubber stamped early in the New Year, more than three years after he was jailed for trafficking drugs.
It’s understood the ex-Dragons and Knights prop will have strict conditions on his contract, with any off-field slip-up to effectively end his final chance in the game.
Wicks was sentenced to a maximum of three years in jail in September, 2011, after being charged with eight drug-related offences and pleading guilty to another three counts of supply.
The NRL’s ban ended in September, allowing Parramatta and the NRL to spend the past three months sorting through the finer details of his new deal.
The process is on the verge of being completed, giving Wicks the green light to make a return to a rugby league career that his manager Steve Gillis said was effectively over when Wicks was sentenced.
“He’s unlikely to return to professional sport and I would be very surprised if he ever plays again,’’ Gillis told Newcastle District Court in September, 2011.
Gillis on Wednesday told The Daily Telegraph that Wicks has been working extremely hard at training since June in a bid to resurrect his career.
“Danny has been training with the team and was in rehab with a hamstring injury prior to the break, but he is going well,” Gillis said.
“He doesn’t have a contract registered with the NRL, but we are hoping to have it sorted in the next two to four weeks hopefully.”
Parramatta Chairman Steve Sharp has been highly impressed with Wicks’ application and attitude since linking with the club.
Sharp said the Eels were prepared to give the barnstorming bookend another shot despite his troubled past.
“It’s probably his last chance,” Sharp said.
“He knows he has done something wrong by society.
“So to get the opportunity again is something he probably never expected.
“But we have been showing him the path and we are happy to help people if they are prepared to help themselves.
“It will probably take him a bit of time to get back into the swing of things being out of the game for four years, but he is ticking all the right boxes at the moment.
“He is keeping his mind on the job 100 per cent and from having spoken to him a few times, he really wants to be successful and is really appreciate of the club giving him that opportunity.”
Wicks lost around 20kg during his stint in Glen Innes jail, but the Grafton-born prop has since added significant bulk to his frame.
Sharp revealed how the 29-year-old has dominated pre-season testing thus far.
Danny Wicks celebrates after scoring a remarkable try against the Roosters.
Danny Wicks celebrates after scoring a remarkable try against the Roosters.
“Danny’s training has been exceptional,” he said.
“Even before he came down for the official training session, our coaching staff had been in contact with him up there to check on his fitness levels.
“They gave him a program and he met all the targets and he exceeded them.
“I know the coaching staff is excited about what Danny can produce this year.
“He has been working really hard, especially given he has been out of society for a couple of years.
“He only had limited access to training facilities, but he has just taken everything by the scruff of the neck and gone with it.
“He has been fantastic and his results in all the testing have been well above average.
“Danny has also put on a bit of weight and size, while still maintaining that speed he had before, which was exceptional for a big fella.”
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 7171441014
the list goes on