Richie Fa'aoso made his return from a broken neck for Parramatta's feeder side Wentworthville against Newtown at Henson Park on Saturday.

Had it not been for life-long supporter Brendon Noney, the comeback never would have happened.

When Parramatta was struggling to get the necessary insurance cover the NRL required, it was Noney - a partner at HWL Ebsworth lawyers - who did the legal legwork to make it happen.

"I can confidently say that without Brendan's assistance, Richie would not be playing," Parramatta CEO Scott Seward said. "If I had had my time over again I would have contacted him much earlier than I did.

"He was without doubt the man who got it across the line. He took up the legal side of things and helped to source everything for us. He did an outstanding job for us and deserves some recognition for getting Richie back on the field."

Seward paid tribute to another Eels fan, James Musial of Australian Reliance Insurance Brokers, for also contributing greatly to Fa'aoso's comeback.

DRAGONS STILL WOOING MERRIN

St George Illawarra is hoping to change Trent Merrin's mind about heading to Penrith before the round 13 cut-off date.

Merrin never wanted to leave but signed a three-year deal with the Panthers after the club reneged on a handshake agreement last year.

Sin Bin has been told Merrin would have been up to $100,000 out of pocket a year, given the final offer was so far short of the original one.

However, Red V powerbrokers hope that they can somehow mend the situation and be in a position to extend Merrin's stay.

Regardless of the outcome, it wouldn't surprise to see the Dragons launch a revenge attack on the Panthers and try to sign Adam Docker. The back-rower is originally from Shellharbour and was part of the Dragons' Nec team before joining the mountain men.

KNIGHTS COUP WITH BROTHERS

The decision of the Mata'utia brothers to remain at Newcastle, despite signing multi-million dollar deals with Canterbury, is a massive coup for the Knights.

Sione, Channel and Pat decided to stay, taking advantage of the round 13 clause which allows the incumbent club to have a final crack at retaining players.

However, it poses an intriguing dilemma for the club as they try to make a call on the future of Kurt Gidley.

The Newcastle captain is "potentially" interested in following in the footsteps of his brother Matt and finishing his career in the Super League, but remains undecided on how to finish his illustrious career.

Gidley is one of the club's highest-paid players and will likely have to take a pay cut to remain in the Hunter.

There could be more cash to keep him should Beau Scott exercise a clause in his contract to leave the club at the end of the year. One thing is certain - he won't be playing against the Knights..

"I won't be going anywhere else in the NRL," he said. "That time is well and truly gone, certainly not now, especially with how passionate I am about the Knights.

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, it might be mid-year or it might be earlier. I've got a great relationship with Stoney [coach Rick Stone], Michael Hagan is coaching director and my brother Matt is CEO. Between me and those guys there will be some honest conversations and we'll make a decision on that when the time comes."

BUS SPONSOR DRIVEN FROM MANLY

Manly will have to find a new way to get to many of their games next season after Opal Coaches severed their eight-year association with the club.

Mario Alfonso, who has driven the team to two grand finals, said this year would be his last with the Sea Eagles.

He recently posted on Facebook: "Unfortunately due to new internal management structure emerging at the club they have shown very little care to retain our sponsorship and services beyond this year ... it's time to move on to another club that has a better attitude and retains that 'family club' feel … I can't live with this new attitude internally."

The buses have been adorned with Sea Eagles imagery and each one was even named after a Manly great. But all of the livery will be stripped at the end of the season.

SEA EAGLES MOVE ON FORAN, NOT DCE

Manly powerbrokers have spoken of their plan to convince Kieran Foran to change his mind about joining the Eels before the round 13 deadline - but they appear happy to let fellow half Daly Cherry-Evans head to the Gold Coast.

"No. I can't say they have," Cherry-Evans said when asked if management was in his ear about staying put. "I am quite happy with where I'm heading with my future."

"DCE" has been much maligned for how he carried out his negotiations, but you can understand him being upset after the goalposts shifted and he was offered $800,000 less than under the last year. Resolving his future has come as a relief.

"I've always enjoyed my footy, even when I was going through the process," he said. "I've just enjoyed the media stop talking about me in terms and ways that put my family and friends in an uncomfortable situation."

As for reports he was actively recruiting for the Titans, the Australian representative said: "I won't even waste my time with it, it's pure media speculation. I'm not even going to contemplate buying in about it."