Valentine Holmes’ kicking streak close to record-setting as Cowboys prepare to take on Knights

A miracle rebirth over the Origin period has seen the Cowboys kicker notch up 25 consecutive goals heading into Saturday’s must-win final. A fellow goal-kicking NRL legend weighs in on Val’s golden run.

North Queensland Cowboys player Valentine Holmes. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Having been dubbed the Iceman after his 2022 finals goalkicking heroics, the question wasn’t if Valentine Holmes would overcome the streak of misses that have troubled him throughout 2024, but when.

The laser-sighted boot of the goalkicking centre was askew and cost the Cowboys at crucial points throughout the year, but a miracle rebirth over the Origin period has seen Holmes notch up 25 consecutive goals heading into Saturday’s must-win elimination final.

A late-season blitz saw Holmes streak away with his second NRL pointscoring title, with his 246 for the season 23 clear of second-placed Jamayne Isaako.

Holmes’ conversion tally puts him just one behind club legend Johnathan Thurston’s highest streak of 26 straight through the 2007-2008 season, and narrowly ahead of another club legend in Josh Hannay, who notched up 23 in 2003.

Hannay, who made his bones as a goalkicking centre for North Queensland before Holmes had even graduated high school, has since coached Holmes as the Cowboys interim coach and the Queensland Maroons assistant.

He was also seated firmly in the Cronulla Sharks coaches box in 2022 when a late 40-metre dagger from Holmes brought the Sharks crashing back down to ground.

“He’s a very good goal kicker, and he’s been a very consistent goal kicker at the highest level for a long time,” Hannay said.

Josh Hannay in 2020. Picture: Matt Taylor

“When you kick for long enough at the level he has, you’re bound to get on this type of hot streak he’s on at the moment.

“I still remember when I hit those numbers in 2003. The more you kick in a row, the more pressure you can tend to put on yourself.”

Hannay backed Holmes to keep the record discussions and hype off his mind when lacing up the boots as he attempts to prolong his time in the north and cinch another premiership.

“The reality is every kick over the next month is going to have that added pressure anyway because it’s finals football, so he doesn’t need the extra pressure of trying to chase records at the same time,” Hannay said.

But one of the hardest challenges of being a goal-kicker — standing out on your own, without your team to aid you in a crucial effort in pivotal moments — might also have been Holmes’ saving grace, with Hannay pointing to the State of Origin period as a chance for players to focus on themselves.

North Queensland Cowboys player Valentine Holmes. Picture: Shae Beplate.

“That’s one of the beauties of State of Origin. Week to week in the NRL grind can be very team focused, but during Origin, you get that bit of extra time to spend on yourself,” Hannay said.

“Once you’re in Origin camp, the program tends to be very tailored to your individual needs, and I think Val was able to focus in and spend a bit more time with the goalkicking than he would have otherwise.”

Out by the tee, after the roar of the crowd has died down following a try, in what can often be the loneliest spot on the field, Hannay treated goalkicking as an honour, something Val seems to have recaptured as well.

“I took it as a privilege, in a way,” Hannay said.

“I think that responsibility; turning four into six, nailing a crucial penalty goal, I really saw it as a privilege and a responsibility.”

Originally published as Valentine Holmes’ kicking streak close to record-setting as Cowboys prepare to take on Knights