DANNY Wicks once feared he’d never play rugby league again, let alone bring up the personal milestone of 100 NRL games.

Locked behind bars in a Glen Innes jail back in 2011, Wicks genuinely thought his football career was over.

After pleading guilty to three drug trafficking charges, Wicks spent 18 months in imprisonment.

He went from earning $250,000 a season at Newcastle to being paid a maximum $55 dollars a week as a forklift driver at the prison timber mill.

Wicks was a convicted drug dealer — far removed from his previous life as an NRL star as possible.

media_camera Danny Wicks is rightly proud of a milestone he was never sure he’d reach.

“There were a few years there where footy wasn’t even on my mind,” Wicks told The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t contemplate it (not playing again).

“I was just worried about family, but as I travelled through the dark tunnel I started to see the light that maybe I could play again.”

Flash forward six years and the man once jailed for drug offences will bring up a ton of top grade games against the Roosters on Friday night.

It’s a special achievement for Wicks, especially when you consider his troubled past.

“Sometimes I look back and think, ‘what an idiot’, but in the same respect here I am,” he said. “Compared to where I was six years ago, I’d like to think I’ve done all right.

“I’ve only played 100 games, but I had five years out of the game so it’s a milestone my family and I are very proud of.”

ORIGIN PODCAST: Fatima Kdouh, David Riccio and Dean Ritchie inside Blues camp

Wicks may be on the right path, but he still remains without a deal for next season.

The Grafton-born prop isn’t alone though, with a cast of off-contract players in limbo as the Eels await the outcome of the salary cap investigation.

This has hindered Parramatta from being able to lock in players like Wicks and star five-eighth Corey Norman as they don’t know their position under the cap moving forward.

Norman also faces an uncertain future due to drug possession charges, which he will fight in court next week.

It’s a predicament that has also prevented the Eels from signing players on the open market.

media_camera Wicks is loving being in the thick of the action again.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal Parramatta have given Newcastle back-rower Robbie Rochow a verbal offer, but are waiting on the NRL’s final cap penalty before tabling an official deal.

This has frustrated Rochow’s management, who may consider taking up an option at Cronulla if they don’t hear back from the Eels soon.

To complicate matters, over $500,000 in guaranteed third-party agreements are reportedly set to be included in next year’s salary cap.

The cap may be increasing from $6.8 million to $7.1 million next season, but the Eels’ indiscretions means they will have approximately $500,000 less than rival clubs to outlay on players.

This could also have a significant impact on Parramatta’s ability to keep players coming off-contract in 2017, including Semi Radradra, Kenny Edwards and Clint Gutherson.

media_camera Robbie Rochow is on Parra’s radar — if they can get it past the NRL.

Despite the ongoing dramas with the salary cap, Wicks remains hopeful of re-signing with the Eels.

“I’d like to stay here,” he said. “I love this club and the supporters. We are in negotiations at the moment and I’ll just leave that to my manager.”

With Parramatta’s 12-point salary cap penalty set to drop in the coming days, many experts are writing off the Eels’ season. Wicks, though, refuses to give up.

“You can take the points off us, but we are still a mathematical chance to make the eight,” he said. “We still think we are in with a chance and that’s how we will be playing.”

As Wicks knows — anything is possible, especially with support from your family.

“I’ll never forget when I got arrested the first thing dad said to me was, ‘I was with you at the top of the mountain and I’ll be with you at the bottom.

“That’s my family in a nutshell.”