An Origin selection wouldn’t be enough to stop Valentine Holmes from chasing his NFL dream

QUEENSLAND Origin prospect Valentine Holmes has revealed the lure of a Maroon jumper would not be enough to stop him chasing his NFL dream.

Jason Taumalolo and Valentine Holmes are training at the NFL combine. Picture: Nathan Edwards

QUEENSLAND Origin prospect Valentine Holmes has revealed the lure of a Maroon jumper would not be enough to stop him chasing his NFL dream.

Holmes’ revelation came as Cowboys coach Paul Green urged the NRL to provide more salary-cap relief to keep stars like Jason Taumalolo and Holmes in rugby league.

Cowboys wrecking ball Taumalolo and Sharks ace Holmes’ NFL experience is over, for now, after the pair left Los Angeles last night to enjoy a break in Australia.

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While some critics believe the NFL workout was a tactic to inflate their worth in rugby league, Taumalolo and Holmes’ NFL journey is getting serious.

Five clubs expressed interest following the trial. Taumalolo and Holmes’ management received more emails from NFL clubs last night to explore the prospect of the NRL duo returning to America to inspect their individual set-ups.

Jason Taumalolo and Valentine Holmes at Loyola High School in Los Angeles. Picture: Nathan Edwards

Maroons coach Kevin Walters believes Holmes can break into the Origin arena in 2017, with the Test winger to be named next month in Queensland’s Emerging Origin squad.

Holmes has dreamt of playing Origin since his junior days in Townsville, but admits it would be impossible to ignore an opportunity in the NFL.

“Origin is definitely something I would like to play, but I need to look after myself and my family,” he said.

“If there was a team over here that was keen to keep me, I would have to look at it seriously.

“I’d love to wear the Origin jersey next season. I still have at least another year in rugby league, but if this (his quest for an NFL contract) doesn’t work, I will play my best for the Sharks and hopefully keep performing in the NRL for a long time.”

NFL Combine guru Jeff Foster said Taumalolo and Holmes may not hear from NFL franchises again for some time. Clubs are focused on the NFL playoffs which begin in a month, although Foster revealed Taumalolo and Holmes were up to standard at the workout.

“The challenge is the NFL is at week 12 of our season, so they aren’t thinking about developing players, they are trying to win the final quarter of their season,” he said.

“But the scouts who attended were really engaged. The scouts were excited when Jason and Valentine came in and they met their expectations.

Jason Taumalolo and Valentine Holmes in Santa Monica. Picture: AAP

“The guys did their very best and it was certainly good enough in terms of what our expectations were.

“Jason definitely has the temperament and the physicality to play defence, but that’s much different to what he is doing right now.

“The question now is whether or not they want to continue to be challenged in another sport. It takes a lot of courage to do what they have done.”

Cowboys coach Green is at risk of losing Taumalolo and believes the NRL must find ways to prevent another Jarryd Hayne-style defection.

“Maybe we look at salary-cap exemptions for Test and Origin players,” Green said.

“We don’t want to lose our stars to other codes. We have developed some wonderful talent over the years, but we want to keep them in our game if we can.”

Originally published as An Origin selection wouldn’t be enough to stop Valentine Holmes from chasing his NFL dream