The NRL community was robbed of lengthy, heated discussions in pubs across North Queensland last week when Valentine Holmes clarified his positional plans for the Cowboys’ 2022 season.
Not that that’ll stop us arguing all the same, anyway.
Valentine Holmes making the switch to centre – a role he played just twice last season – is a sign that North Queensland are going all in on Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow as their fullback moving forward. That’s good news, Cowboys fans. Regardless of Holmes’ class (or salary), the Hammer’s ceiling is absurdly high and he is the best option there right now and in the long term.
What can Holmes offer in the centres?
Biting the bullet and admitting their $800K (reported) star isn’t the first choice fullback anymore was a tough decision but one the Cowboys needed to make. A 20 year old Tabuai-Fidow isn’t going to light up the competition every week but he’s ready to play there full time and he – and the Cowboys – will be better for it by season’s end.
“‘Hammer’ is going really well; he’s young, quick, athletic, a good skilful player.. we’ve got to give him his opportunities“
Valentine Holmes, NRL.com
As for Holmes, the transition from fullback to centre is one we can expect him to make reasonably effectively. He had his moments in two appearances there last year but there’s only so much we can take from those games specifically. A better indication of Holmes’ chances comes from the vast skill set he has emphatically displayed across 137 NRL games to date.
