Broncos eye Valentine Holmes as saviour of Red Hill after finals bashing
New York Jets hopeful Valentine Holmes has been identified as a potential recruit for the struggling Brisbane Broncos should his NFL aspirations fade ahead of the 2020 NRL season start.
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The Broncos have been urged to bring Valentine Holmes back from the NFL as Brisbane recruitment chiefs prepare for a shake-up of their roster following their finals capitulation.
A number of NRL clubs have already contacted Holmes’ management expressing interest and are ready to pounce on the former Queensland Origin star should he choose to abort his dream of playing in the NFL.
Currently with the New York Jets as an international development player on their list, Holmes’ American adventure could end as early as December 29 if his club fails to make the NFL playoffs.
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Should the Jets reach the Super Bowl on February 2 next year, Holmes would still have time to sign with an NRL club and embark on a shortened pre-season if he opted to return to Australia for the 2020 premiership.
The Cowboys were frontrunners to secure Holmes but with North Queensland increasingly happy with Scott Drinkwater in the No.1 jumper, the door is ajar for the Broncos to launch a poaching bid for Holmes.
The fullback slot is one of Brisbane’s problem areas and by signing Holmes, it would enable attacking dynamo Anthony Milford to return to the halves to form a scrumbase partnership with 18-year-old Tom Dearden.
Former NSW Origin pivot Matthew Johns, hired by the Broncos in pre-season in a consultancy capacity to work with the club’s halves, believes Holmes would be a revelation in the Brisbane No.1 jumper.
“Brisbane have to look at Valentine Holmes, he would be a terrific signing,” Johns said.
“I know North Queensland have pinned their hopes on getting him but if he comes back next year, I’m sure a stack of clubs will be having a go.
“Val is a great player, it would make perfect sense for the Broncos to go after him.
“He would bring some speed and strike at the back and that’s what the Broncos have lacked this season.”
Brisbane’s greatest tryscoring centre Steve Renouf said Holmes, who scored 66 tries from 105 career games before quitting Cronulla to try his luck in the NFL, would transform the Broncos backline.
“The Broncos should go after Val Holnes, they have to get him if he is available,” Renouf said.
“He is a matchwinner and that would take the pressure off Anthony Milford to try and be the spark in Brisbane’s attack.
“The Broncos have to do something with their spine and Val would be a great asset.”
Johns said the Broncos won’t realise their potential as a squad until coach Anthony Seibold finds a dominant playmaker in his spine.
“The team generates their confidence out of its playmakers,” he said. “To have success, you need to have a great playmaker in the side, you just have to have a dominant voice steering the team around.
“I honestly don’t know where the Broncos turn. I was of the belief that the Broncos should have signed James Maloney. When he decided to leave Penrith, I felt the Broncos could have done with for 12 months alongside Dearden to help the kid and give Brisbane some direction.
“Looking at the market, there is not much around. Dearden is going to be a good player but he is just a kid and it will take a few years for him to develop into a dominant playmaker.
“It’s an absolute necessity to have a top-drawer playmaker.”
Originally published as Broncos eye Valentine Holmes as saviour of Red Hill after finals bashing