Farcical $1.15m truth North Queensland Cowboys can’t escape

Valentine Holmes’ impending move away from the Cowboys has been revealed with a damning truth the club cannot escape.

Valentine Holmes and Jason Taumalolo

It has been revealed that Valentine Holmes’ impending move to the Dragons was sparked by star forward Jason Taumalolo’s resistance take a pay cut or play elsewhere.

The Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday that Holmes will leave the Cowboys at season’s end a year early to link up with his former coach Shane Flanagan at the Dragons on a three-year deal worth $2.5 million.

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Michael Carayannis explained on Wednesday night’s episode of NRL360 the lengths Flanagan went to convince Holmes to make the move back to Sydney.

Holmes won a premiership under Flanagan in 2016 with the Sharks.

“It’s obviously a big deal for the Dragons to get Val Holmes done from next year, on top of the signing of Damien Cook for next year,” Carayannis said.

“It was last month when Val Holmes was given permission from the Cowboys to negotiate to leave the club with 12 months left on his contract and that’s when the Dragons pounced.

“Shane Flanagan identified Val Holmes as a potential replacement for Zac Lomax. They needed a goalkicker, some experience and a guy who can play a couple of positions in the backline.

“He hasn’t been great so far this year Val Holmes, but Shane Flanagan did something rare and got on a plane last Thursday to fly to Townsville. It’s a fair trip and there aren’t a lot of direct flights, so he had to time it well to get there.”

Val Holmes is on the move. (Photo by James Gourley/Getty Images)

After five seasons at Cronulla, Holmes walked out on the Sharks to play in the NFL.

While the defection to gridiron wasn’t a complete fail given he appeared in some pre-season games for the New York Jets, Holmes couldn’t resist a huge money deal with his hometown team the Cowboys and cut short his NFL dream.

“It was a bit of a clear the air meeting as well. Things didn’t end on the best note with Holmes at the Sharks. He obviously walked out on the club to join the NFL. They let all that out and it culminated in a three-year deal worth about $850,000 a season with the Dragons,” Carayannis explained.

“That contract that he’s on at the Cowboys is big money – we’re talking $1.15 million next season. Don’t forget he signed that big six-year contract when he was coming back from the NFL.

“Just for this year and next, the Cowboys thought it was a little bit too much money but it’s a big signing for the Dragons.”

Tauamalolo reportedly wasn’t willing to budge. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

The Cowboys were facing a cap crunch with Holmes on big money next season in addition to Tauamalolo, who is in the midst of a 10-year deal worth $950,000 a season.

The Cowboys have reportedly asked Taumalolo for a pay cut, but he’s been unwilling to budge. According to Fox League’s James Hooper, that was a big factor in why the Cowboys have let Holmes walk a year before the end of his contract.

“Is this because Tauamalolo won’t move on and there’s pressure on the cap?” NRL360 host Braith Anasta asked.

“Yes. Absolutely. Their cap was pressured, but now that Val is moving on and freeing up $1.15m, in all likelihood they can re-sign Reece Robson, extend Cotter,” Hooper replied.

“I think it’s a win-win for both clubs because from a Cowboys point of view, they can upgrade and extend Reuben Cotter, they’ve got good young backs emerging on that roster, Zac Laybutt, Tom Chester, Viliami Vailea and for the amount of money that Val Holmes is on, well you can probably retain all three possibly of those.

“It’s a big win for the Cowboys.”

Originally published as Farcical $1.15m truth North Queensland Cowboys can’t escape