Cronulla, North Queensland deny Valentine Holmes and Jason Taumalolo are considering switching to NFL

NORTH Queensland and Cronulla both deny that Jason Taumalolo and Valentine Holmes are considering switching to the NFL despite their upcoming testing.

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JESSE Williams’ former NFL club Seattle Seahawks are targeting Jason Taumalolo and Valentine Holmes as the star NRL duo prepare for shock cameos in American football.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal five clubs have officially registered interest in scouting Taumalolo and Holmes after the NFL issued a circular revealing their arrival in the US for testing.

The clubs include the San Diego Chargers, Indianapolis Colts and the Seahawks, who first explored Australian talent by drafting 151kg Queenslander Williams three years ago.

Williams severed ties with Seattle last year, but Seahawks scouts will be present when Taumalolo and Holmes undergo a battery of NFL-specific tests on Saturday.

Cowboys wrecking ball Taumalolo and Sharks flyer Holmes arrive in Los Angeles today — just 24 hours after squaring off in the Australia-New Zealand Four Nations final in England.

Holmes won a premiership with Cronulla in 2016.

The pair will spend the week dipping their toe in NFL waters, but NRL hierarchy made it clear it would not tolerate Taumalolo and Holmes reneging on their contracts in rugby league. The duo are off-contract next season.

“The players have not committed any breach by undergoing fitness tests with the NFL,” an NRL spokesman said last night.

“But we would expect them to return to Australia and fulfil their contractual commitments once they have finished those tests.”

Jarryd Hayne’s exploits with the San Francisco 49ers has blazed the NFL trail for a new wave of NRL stars.

Taumalolo, 23, and Holmes, 21, have time on their side to explore a career in the NFL.

Sharks CEO Lyall Gorman said Holmes had permission to complete a series of ‘non-contact’ sessions.

Taumalolo was a co-winner of the Dally M medal this season.

“We are very comfortable for Val to have the experience and we support him in it,” Gorman said.

“It’s not a trial at all. We’ve been approved by Val and his agent for him to go across for a week and have a physical assessment.

“It will be non-contact and it will just be purely a physical assessment with just the two players.

“It’s well-known that the NFL’s combines are in February.

“Val is just really keen on the experience to see where he sits on the global scale of elite athletes.”

Gorman said the Sharks were closing in on re-signing the Townsville-born back beyond 2017.

“Val has no desire to play over there and he is contracted to us,” he said.

Holmes and Taumalolo will see how they fare in America.

“He is looking forward to extending his contract with us.

“We’ve still got some work to do, but we are very advanced in discussions.”

North Queensland’s reigning Dally M Medallist has an interest in gridiron and has seriously considered a switch since January, when NFL scouts first made preliminary inquiries.

Cowboys recruitment chief Peter Parr, who played a key role in signing Taumalolo to a two-year, $2 million deal last year, hopes the Test forward sees a long-term future in the NRL.

“Jase is a young man and a great athlete, why wouldn’t he want to test himself in the NFL?” Parr said.

Valentine Holmes has had an unforgettable year.

“We thought it was best to let him go and do whatever it is that his management has organised.

“I can’t give a guarantee on whether Jason sees this as a long shot or whether he is a realistic chance of making the NFL.

“We will see how it plays out. His manager has assured me that he will be playing for the Cowboys in 2017.

“The only confidence I have is that if Jason decides to remain in the NRL, he will remain with the Cowboys.

“From a personal point of view, I was happy for him to do it. I contacted Paul Green (Cowboys coach) and he endorsed that as well.”