Fox League star Hannah Hollis says she now laughs at her run-in with Valentine Holmes
COVID restrictions on NRL have changed the game — but Valentine Holmes still shakes his head when thinking back to a run-in he had on live TV.
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This time last year, Fox League presenter Hannah Hollis was preparing for the NRL finals and making the final touches to her November wedding.
Press fast forward on the crazy year that has been 2020 and the happily married TV star is ready for another finals campaign and celebrating her first anniversary in lockdown.
While coronavirus threw the world and its sporting contests a curve ball this year, Hollis has learned to embrace the chaos.
“It’s been pretty incredible, actually, the way that everyone has, I suppose, pivoted. And we’ve all developed a brand new set of skills in lockdown while we were doing our live shows,” she tells The BINGE Guide.
“I think it’s actually been really great for fans to see more of the personalities from everyone on air,” Hollis says.
When the code finally got back on its feet in May, strict social distancing protocols were put in place – demanding the players and those who work around them to change their ways.
Hollis found herself in trouble almost instantly, reaching over a fence to do a post-match interview with North Queensland Cowboys speedster, Valentine Holmes.
While a normal part of her sideline role, the ‘new normal’ meant she had breached the social distance rules.
Looking back, Hollis says, with a laugh: “It feel so long ago. And Vally and I often have a laugh about it. I’ve interviewed him several times since then. And we just have a laugh and he just kind of shakes his head and goes, ‘man, what a day it was.’”
It took some learning but Hollis quickly found her way and actually excelled on game day and in her first solo presenting role on Fox.
But she would find herself in the crosshairs of criticism again, after questioning Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett on a tearful breakdown by his star player, Latrell Mitchell.
Months on, the proud journalist stands firm she did her job.
“I look back on that and I’m proud of handling it the way that I did and asking the question because it was important to me.”
On the home front, the pandemic also proved testing, but Hollis jokes the couple have a “no returns policy.”
“Actually, we were talking about it the other day going, ‘wow, it’s been a whole year. Imagine if someone had told us last November what we were about to face in terms of not just as a couple, but as a society.”
The newlyweds hope to squeeze in a short ‘staycation’ to mark one year of wedded bliss – but not before a bumper spring of finals footy, followed by the State of Origin series.
“And the sun’s out and the weather’s turning it on. So it just adds up to a really special time of year. I’m just happy to enjoy it all.”
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