Valentine Holmes

Holmes last year joined the club on a three-year deal in a big coup having spent the previous five seasons in Townsville.

The 30-year-old has represented the Kangaroos on 21 occasions scoring 20 tries – including a six-try haul against Fiji in their 2017 Rugby League World Cup semi-final clash – and the Maroons 22 times scoring 13 tries – the third-highest tally in the state’s history.

Holmes played in the Kangaroos’ 2017 and 2021 World Cup Final wins and has been a part of five State of Origin series wins.

Having played his juniors with the Western Lions in Townsville, Holmes made his way to the Sharks in 2013 and would go on to represent the Maroons in Under 18s and Under 20s Origin as well as the Junior Kangaroos.

He made his NRL debut for the Sharks as a 19-year-old in Round 21, 2014 and would go on to spend five seasons with the club before making the decision to pursue a career in American Football.

In April of 2019, he inked a deal with the New York Jets courtesy of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program and appeared in a trio of preseason games.

He made his way back to the NRL with the Cowboys in 2020 and was named to the NRL’s Dally M Team of the Year two years later.

Currently ranked 29th on the premiership’s all-time point-scoring list with 1,354 to his name, Holmes’ opening campaign as a Dragon was cut short by a shoulder concern, but the veteran centre still managed six tries, nine try assists, and 161 average run metres and 14 appearances.

With 217 NRL matches and 114 tries under his belt, Holmes is contracted to the Red V until at least the end of the 2027 season.