North Queensland Cowboys centre Valentine Holmes has reportedly confirmed his future after weeks of back-and-forth rumours about whether or not he would be leaving the club.
Coming off another State of Origin campaign for theย QLD Maroons, Holmes' future has been up in the air ever since Cowboys coach Todd Payten confirmed that he had been granted permission to speak with rival teams and would be able to leave if he found the right deal, despite being contracted until the end of the 2025 NRL season.
A stalwart of the North Queensland side since arriving there in 2020 and is due to play his 200th NRL match in Round 25, the Australian Kangaroos representative is slowly coming to the back end of his career and may be looking for a change of scenery.
According toย News Corp, Holmes will link up with former coach Shane Flanagan at the St George Illawarra Dragons from next season on a three-year contract set to be worth $2.5 million after being released from the final year of his contract.
The club will officially confirm his arrival later today and he will replace the departing Zac Lomax in the outside backs and can play either in the centres or on the wingโpositions he has also played on the representative stage for the QLD Maroons and Australian Kangaroos.
Per the publication, it is understood that his management also discussed a potential move to the Sydney Roosters about a potential switch for next season, which would have seen him follow close friend and teammate Chad Townsend to the Bondi-based club.
The news is a surprise to his Cowboys teammates, who believed he would remain in Townsville for the foreseeable future despite the rumours of him leaving the club.
"I think that's just the club obviously saying like you're more than welcome to test the waters and I know where Val's heart's at. We all know where Val's heart's at. It's with us," teammate Kyle Feldt told Zero Tackle last week.
"I personally don't see him leaving, which is great. He's a North Queenslander boy, he's from Townsville.
"It'll be hard to see him go if he does go, but honestly at this stage, he's still got one or two more years left and I reckon he's gonna stick it out with us."
