Leigh Centurions have announced the signing of Australian prop forward Tom Amone from Wests Tigers.
Amone, 24, has played in the NRL for South Sydney Rabbitohs and Wests, where he made eight appearances last season.
Now he will make the move to England, following in the footsteps of his uncle Asa who played for Halifax, Featherstone Rovers and Doncaster.
“I’m a little bit nervous but I’m also very excited and I can’t wait to get over to the UK and prepare for a big season ahead,” said Amone, who is of Tongan descent.
“I know what the ambitions of the club are, and I want to play my part in helping Leigh Centurions achieve their goal of getting back into Super League.”
Leigh director of rugby Chris Chester revealed that he had been interested in signing Amone last year when he was head coach at Wakefield Trinity, but was delighted to now have his man.
“He’s a player that reminds me a lot of Kelepi Tanganoa at Wakefield, someone who people didn’t know too much about before he came, but soon found out about once he’d arrived,” said Chester.
“Tom has good leg speed and can play. He’s aggressive in attack and defence and his style of play will be ideally suited to the game over here.”