The Newcastle Knights have upgraded and extended the contract of local junior and rising talent Fletcher Sharpe.
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The Cessnock product has been elevated from the development list into the top-30 roster and had his deal lengthened by a year.
The 19-year-old is now signed until the end of the 2026 season.
"He will go into the top 30 immediately, to take Ryan Rivett's spot," Knights football director Peter Parr said, referencing the recent departure of Rivett to France.
A fullback, Sharpe has been rising through the lower grades and was a standout in the under-19 SG Ball side the past two seasons.
After his inaugural pre-season with the NRL squad this summer, he started in the No.1 jersey in the club's 44-18 trial win over Cronulla at Gosford on February 17.
He was on an extended bench for the second trial against Melbourne in Fiji.
Sharpe has previously attracted interest from other clubs and the Knights had tied him up long term in recent years.
"We think he is going to be a very good NRL player eventually," Parr said.
"He's a Cessnock boy and has come through our pathways program. Given his recent form in the pre-season, right at the moment the longer he is here, the better."
Following Sharpe's upgrade, the Knights also elevated winger Laitia Moceidreke onto the development list from a NSW Cup contract. That makes the 23-year-old available to play NRL from round one.
Moceidreke joined the Knights from North Queensland last season, and scored nine tries in 14 NSW Cup games.
"He certainly has the physical attributes to make it as an NRL player, but he needs to be able to show that consistently," Parr said.
"That's his challenge."
