London sign Newcastle forward Luke Yates

London have confirmed the signing of front-rower Luke Yates from Newcastle on a one-year deal.

The 23-year-old becomes London’s fifth new signing for 2019, joining Ryan Morgan, Jordan Abdull, Greg Richards and Nathan Mason in the capital.

Yates arrives at the Broncos from NRL side Newcastle Knights, where he made 25 appearances after making his NRL debut in 2017.

On joining London, Yates said: “This is a great opportunity for me to be able to play in the Super League.

“I am looking forward to meeting all the boys here and helping to keep the club in the top-level next season.

“I hope we can compete and shock a couple of those top teams in the process. I must admit, it’s colder than when I left Sydney, but I am sure it won’t take me long to acclimatise.”

Broncos’ boss Danny Ward commented: “We are really pleased to have Luke join us for the 2019 season and look forward to working with him.

“He will give us more depth to our middle and create more competition for places.

“He is a young, hungry, hard-working forward with NRL experience already under his belt.”