Jailed drug supplier Wicks set for NRL return

Former Newcastle forward Danny Wicks is set to complete a remarkable resurrection - from jailed drug supplier to NRL player - with a contract at Parramatta just days away from being approved.

The NRL is poised to officially register Wicks' one-year deal with the Eels more than three years after he was imprisoned for drug trafficking.

It is understood the governing body will impose strict conditions on the 29-year-old when his contract is rubber stamped early in January, according to a report in The Daily Telegraph.

Wicks was sentenced to three years in jail in September, 2011, after being charged with eight drug-related offences and pleading guilty to another three counts of supply.

Wicks' manager Steve Gillis said he had been working tirelessly since June to get in shape for a return to the NRL.

"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 told The Daily Telegraph.

"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."

Before his arrest and imprisonment Wicks was regarded as a highly talented and mobile frontrower.

He played 29 games with the Dragons in 2006 and 2007 before linking with the Knights in 2008-09, where he played 40 NRL matches.

At the time of his sentencing, it appeared certain his career was over, but the Grafton-born forward never gave up hope.

Parramatta chairman Steve Sharp said the Eels were prepared to give the former St George Illawarra and Knights prop a chance to resurrect his career.

"It’s probably his last chance," Sharp told The Daily Telegraph.

"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."