NRL: Wicks cuts ties with Knights

SYDNEY - Concerned his former Newcastle teammates were "copping a pounding", Danny Wicks has voluntarily cut ties with the NRL club.

Wicks, facing eight drug-related charges, terminated a contract reportedly worth A$200,000 ($249,785) a season with another three years to run a day after Knights players moved to end the suspicions surrounding the club by agreeing to year-round testing.

The 24-year-old's action also came on the same day a newspaper report said a second player from the club was being investigated by police.

Wicks released a statement through his lawyers reiterating that he would defend the eight supply and possession charges he faces, and saying other Knights players should not be tarred with the same brush.

"The players have been put under enormous scrutiny and pressure which they do not deserve," the statement read.

"It's the right thing for me to do so the club can move forward.

"The Knights have a strict code of conduct which I have always supported and I feel obliged to disassociate myself from the club until my matter is resolved."

Wicks' manager Steve Gillis said the decision had been a purely personal one.

"It's got nothing whatsoever to do with the court case, it's an individual decision because he could see that his teammates and club were copping a pounding as a result of his arrest and he just felt that the best thing to do would be to step away and take some of that pressure off them," Gillis told AAP.

"His mater will go through the courts and be dealt with and he's made it clear he's going to defend the charges.

"If all goes well from that point of view he'll continue his career.

"He just felt in the meantime there's no point in being a distraction to the club and a lot of the players were under suspicion as a result of his arrest.

"It's a personal decision that's been made that he felt was the right decision and for no other reason other than that."

Newcastle CEO Steve Burraston said Wicks' decision was right for him and the club.

"We support Danny's decision and understand that this is in the best interests of all involved," Burraston said in a statement.

"Danny has many challenges ahead and we understand the reasons behind his decision."

Gillis said there had been no pressure from the club to quit and "no payout of any kind".

He said a return to football was not on the short-term agenda as Wicks, scheduled to next appear in court on February 3, fights the charges but did not rule out a return to the Knights.

"It hasn't been discussed, it's just a matter of stepping down and if all goes well for him I'm sure he'll return," Gillis said.

Wicks was charged last week along with three others, including his brother and sister-in-law, after a police investigation into a speed, cocaine and ecstasy distribution ring. He was released on A$30,000 bail.

Meanwhile, Burraston also responded to a report in The Australian that a second Newcastle player was being investigated by police.

"We don't act on rumours and innuendo and, until such times that we are presented with solid evidence, we won't be taking matters into our own hands," he said.

"It is a matter for police and they are much better placed to deal with such matters."

- AAP