Danny Wicks (born 5 December 1985) is an Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer. He played as a in the NRL for the St. George Illawarra Dragons,

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

and the

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

. From September 2011 to March 2013, Wicks served an eighteen-month prison sentence for trafficking drugs.

Background

Born in Grafton, New South Wales, Wicks played his junior football for the

Grafton Ghosts The Grafton Ghosts are an Australian rugby league football team based in Grafton, New South Wales. The club was founded in 1963 as a joint venture of the Grafton All Blacks and Grafton United teams. Notable players * Danny Wicks (2006-16 St Ge ...

, before being signed by the St. George Illawarra Dragons.

Playing career

Early career

In 2006, Wicks played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons

New South Wales Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserv ...

team.

2006

In round 10 of the

2006 NRL season The 2006 NRL season was the 99th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the ninth run by the National Rugby League. The lineup of teams remained unchanged from the previous year, with fifteen clubs competing for the 2006 ...

, Wicks made his NRL debut for St. George Illawarra against the

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

. Wicks made 17 appearances in his debut season including the preliminary final defeat against

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. He scored a try on debut.

2007

In 2007, Wicks signed a three-year contract with the

starting in 2008, following Brian Smith's clean out of the club. In a 2008 interview, Smith referred to Wicks as "Wicksy".

2009

In December 2009, Wicks was arrested for supplying prohibited drugs and possession of prohibited drugs. After being released on bail, he quit the Knights "so the club can move forward".

2010

In 2010, Wicks played for the Grafton Ghosts while his matter was in the courts, eventually being sentenced to eighteen months in prison.

2014

In May 2014, Wicks' agent started approaching clubs about the possibility of signing him to a contract for 2015, with his four-year WADA suspension for drugs ending in September 2014. During his stay in prison, Wicks lost 20 kilograms to get back to his old playing weight of 106 kilograms. On 30 October 2014, he signed a 1-year contract with the

starting in 2015. He made his return to the NRL in round 2 of the

2015 NRL season The 2015 NRL season was the 108th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 18th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, which was followed ...

against the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilit ...

. On 11 April 2015, he re-signed with the Eels on a one-year contract. In August 2015, Wicks resigned on a two-year deal with Parramatta.

2016

In November 2016, Wicks announced his immediate retirement from professional rugby league despite signing a two-year contract extension with the

earlier that year.

2017

On 13 July 2017 it was revealed that Wicks had resumed playing on the NSW Mid North Coast with

Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to: * Alkaline earth metal, a chemical element classification * Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1962 * Group 2 (racing), an FIA classification for cars in ...

side the Grafton Ghosts. He captain-coached the team to win both a premiership and the NSW Country Rugby League's

Clayton Cup The Clayton Cup is a trophy that was awarded by the Country Rugby League to the NSW country rugby league team with the best overall record for that season. To be eligible, the team must win the highest level of competition in its region. Usually t ...

Drug conviction

On 16 December 2009, Wicks was arrested and charged with eight drug related offences, including six counts of supplying a prohibited drug and two counts of possessing a prohibited drug. Police said that ''Strike Force Welham'' had been set up to investigate the supply of amphetamine,

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

and ecstasy in the Clarence Valley region. Wicks was arrested as he drove his car along Brunker Road, Adamstown at around 6:30am, as part of coordinated police raids in four locations. In September 2011, he was sentenced to a maximum of three years in jail after being found guilty of trafficking drugs. He was released on 29 March 2013 after serving eighteen months of a three-year sentence at

Glen Innes Correctional Centre The Glen Innes Correctional Centre, an Australian minimum security prison for males, is located on the Gwydir Highway, near Glen Innes, New South Wales. The centre is operated by Corrective Services NSW an agency of the Department of Attorne ...

References

External links

2015 Parramatta Eels profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wicks, Danny 1985 births Living people 21st-century Australian criminals Australian drug traffickers Australian people convicted of drug offences Australian rugby league players Criminals from New South Wales Drug dealers Kurri Kurri Bulldogs players Newcastle Knights players Parramatta Eels players Rugby league players from Grafton, New South Wales Rugby league props St. George Illawarra Dragons players Wentworthville Magpies players