Cronulla Sharks table Valentine Holmes one of the richest deals in the club’s history

ONE door may have closed, but another door has opened as Cronulla Sharks put forward one of the richest deals in the club’s history to secure one of its Test stars.

ONE door may have closed, but another door has opened.

Blindsided by Ben Barba’s surprise attempt to defect to French rugby union, Cronulla Sharks officials weren’t distracted enough to avoid finalising contract talks with heir apparent, Test star Valentine Holmes.

The Daily Telegraph’s exclusive photos of Holmes’ agent Gavin Orr meeting with Sharks football manager Phil Moss at a Woolooware cafe shows the moment the premiers put forward one of the richest deals in the club’s history.

Holmes, who wasn’t at the meeting due to a prior commitment with Fox Sports, has been offered a multimillion-dollar deal to play fullback for the 2018, 2019 and 2020 seasons.

Ben Barba was seen with his manager and several Cronulla officials on Wednesday.

However, in the absence of a suspended Barba, the Test and premiership-winger will make an earlier-than-expected transition to the No.1 spot in the Sharks’ trial match against Brisbane on Saturday night.

Despite a summer dalliance training in the NFL, the 21 year-old has made no secret of his ultimate desire to make the No.1 jumper his own, while also stating a wish to remain at the Sharks amid serious interest from rival clubs.

DEFECTION: ‘I might never play the game again’

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Sharks chief executive Lyall Gorman described Wednesday’s contract talks as “positive”.

“Those discussions will continue,’’ Gorman said.

“We’d like to think Valentine sees himself as a valuable member of this club because that’s exactly what we see him as.’’

It wasn’t the only top-secret meeting being held in the Sutherland Shire yesterday with club officials demanding answers from Barba and his management after the 27-year-old was heralded on the website of French rugby union club Toulon as a major signing for the remainder of the 2017 season.

Valentine Holmes has been offered one of the club’s richest contracts. Picture: Brett Costello

The first moment club officials became aware of Barba’s plan to use his 12-match suspension from the NRL for illicit drug use and earn a staggering $50,000 a month in France, was late on Tuesday evening.

Such was the belief that Barba was committed to focusing on his mental and physical rehabilitation during his suspension at the Sharks, he had recently mapped out a 12-week training program with the club’s high-performance unit.

Speaking out for the first time since his stint at a Thai rehab facility and less than 24 hours after revealing his plans to switch-codes, the premiership winner dropped yet another bombshell yesterday, saying he was ready to walk away from the game if negotiations over his contract with the NRL continued to drag along.

“The NRL hasn’t given me much, so if it comes to that I might never play the game again,” he told Channel 7.

“It’s probably the first time we’ve talked since then [receiving his ban] … I have to look after my kids and my family, they’re my first option.

“They [NRL] had quite a while to sort my stuff out but it’s taken them three months and nothing has been sorted out … I’m just going along with the flow and listen to the guys who take care of me.”

Ben Barba talks with manager Gavin Orr and Shark's football manager Phil Moss at a cafe in Woolooware. Picture: Mark Evans

His management team were within their rights to negotiate the Toulon deal to continue playing in another code as he is yet to be formally re-registered by the NRL despite the Sharks lodging a 12-month contract last month.

However, the plan didn’t sit well with the NRL who understandably reacted at 12.14pm yesterday with a press release confirming that Barba’s 12-match suspension would begin only when his contract had expired with Toulon.

“The NRL will not consider any contract for registration until he has completed his contract with other sports,’’ NRL CEO Todd Greenberg said.

“The match suspension he needs to serve will only begin after he has completed his playing commitments elsewhere.’’

The Sharks are also likely to say farewell to the 2016 grand final tryscorer if he signs the deal with Toulon, which a deadline was set for 3am Sydney time today (Thursday).

It’s understood that while there is an April 1 get-out clause included in Barba’s contract offer from Toulon, the full-length of the deal is through until June 30 - which is round 17 in the upcoming NRL season.

An additional 12-match suspension would rule a virtual line through the remainder of the 2017 season - leaving the Sharks in a situation where the relationship would be deemed untenable.