Off the field, he is quiet, polite and unassuming. But that quickly turns to aggressive, in-your-face and intimidating on it.

"I save it all up for when I play," the former Wests Tigers and Bulldogs prop jokes when asked about his white-line fever.

"I just flick a switch and get down to business when I'm out there."

Sue arrives in Newcastle with something of an enforcer's reputation, which is exactly the trait head of recruitment Clint Zammit was looking for to bolster Newcastle's forward pack.

"Jesse's got that aggressive streak when he's playing and plenty of experience and will be a leader for us on and off the field," Zammit said. "I just think he's going to complement who we already have here."

Born in Auckland, Sue 28, was three when his family moved to Queensland and 11 when they moved again to Macquarie Fields in Sydney.

He was a Wests Tigers junior, playing NRL for the first time in 2013 and spent six seasons with the Tigers before a two year stint with the Bulldogs.

Ironically, it was in Newcastle against the Knights that he tore his ACL in 2019 while at the Dogs. It restricted him to 26 games in two seasons at Belmore and he found himself without as club when Trent Barrett took over as coach. He says when the opportunity came up from the Knights to move his young family up to Newcastle for the next two years, he jumped at it.

"I was excited about it straight away," he said.

"The club is on the way up and has just made the finals for the first time in a while. In all my time at the Tigers and Dogs, I never played finals footy. Not one game.

"I want to win a premiership. That's the motivation. That's what I want to do now and I've got to do my part for the club and all the boys. We've got a lot of young boys here and I want to set the right example."

Sue says the first week of pre-season training has been "real tough" but is impressed by the attitude of the squad.

"There is a look of hunger there," he said. "I can see it. Everyone is going their hardest which is a good sign. There is still some guys in rehab and a few others to come back but all the signs are good."

Sue, who has played 10 Tests for Samoa, has already taken young prop Pasami Saulo under his wing.

"I think he has a big future," he said.

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