The 21-year-old originally joined the Western Force on trial at the start of pre-season following an outstanding NRC campaign with the NSW Country Eagles, which saw him feature in the grand final loss at Tamworth’s Scully Park last year, and has been rewarded with a contract.

The announcement continues the former Australian Under 20s representative’s rapid rise – after being selected in NSW Country’s wider training squad following a stellar season with Eastern Suburbs in Sydney’s Shute Shield competition in 2016.

Newsome says earning a contract was his goal when he made the trip west for his pre-season trial.

“I’m pretty stoked right now,” Newsome said.

“Coming out of club rugby and the NRC last year I suppose it was always a goal to pick something up.”

“To get the trial opportunity in the first place was great and to come through and get signed at the end is awesome.”

“The training has definitely been a step up in terms of intensity from what I have been used to. Coming through the Australian Under 20’s and the NRC I’ve had exposure to those professional environments but I’ve never done a full pre-season with a Super Rugby team.

“It’s been awesome for my game to learn about the intensity needed to make it at Super Rugby level and what to do in order to get to that point.”

“There are so many quality players in the squad and to see the way the Wallabies guys like Dane (Haylett-Petty) and ‘Moz’ (Luke Morahan) go about their work shows you just how high the standards are.”

The talented youngster scored three spectacular intercept tries playing on the wing in the 2016 Buildcorp NRC and also has the ability to also play at centre and fullback.

“I’ve played most of my footy at 13 but playing on the wing in the NRC has given me a bit of versatility to hopefully contribute to the group.”

Born and raised in Glen Innes the humble youngster says he is excited to begin his next chapter in Perth and has set his sights on a Super Rugby debut.

Meanwhile strict new laws to rid rugby of head-high tackles are already changing Super Rugby.

Just ask the Waratahs, who are tweaking their pre-season plans around what they predict will be the new reality of professional rugby: operating with 14 or 13 players on the field at some point during each game. Defence coach Nathan Grey believes there is little else to conclude after reading the new laws and observing them in action in Europe.