At 6'2" and 17 stones, his dynamic skills, aggressive defence and size caught the eye of Warrington (28 appearances 1961–64), who paid Doncaster £6000 just a few months later to sign him.
Merv Hicks represented the Commonwealth XIII rugby league team while at St. Helens in 1965 against New Zealand at Crystal Palace National Recreation Centre, London on Wednesday 18 August 1965,[7] Merv Hicks played at second-row and scored a try in St. Helens' 12-4 victory over Swinton in the 1964 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1964–65 season at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 24 October 1964.
[8] The offer to start a new life with the Canterbury Bankstown Berries in the Sydney Rugby League competition led Hicks to Australia with his wife, Gwyneira, and Andrew, in 1966.
His 7 seasons in the Sydney competition were highlighted by an ultimately unsuccessful newspaper campaign to have the international representation rules changed so that he could be picked for New South Wales and Australia, such was his dominance at club level.
A short season with the Orange CYMS (16 appearances) in country NSW had sufficient impact on the district that he was nominated for the club's "Team of the Century", prior to the Hicks family's return to the north of England.