Valentine Holmes has broken his silence on his exit from the North Queensland Cowboys for the first time since it was confirmed he will join Shane Flanagan's St George Illawarra Dragons next season.
A representative centre for the Australian Kangaroos and QLD Maroons, Holmes will reunite with Flanagan next season and leave the Cowboys despite stating that he was hoping to finish his career in his hometown.
Initially contracted until 2025 at the Townsville club, the centre was granted permission to speak with rival teams and attracted the interest of several clubs as Todd Payten looked to free up space in the Cowboys' salary cap.
On a wage of a reported $1.15 million a season, News Corpย understands that he was facing a pay-cut of $500,000 if he were to extend his tenure at the North Queensland Cowboys.
Instead, the three-year contract with the Dragons will see him earn $850,000 a season.
โI never wanted to leave the Cowboys,โ Holmes told News Corp.
โI thought I would retire here, but that's professional sport. I am now looking forward to the change and reuniting with โFlanno' (Flanagan) again.
โWe won a premiership together, so we know what's needed from each other to win. I want to focus on finishing the year off well for the Cowboys fans and my teammates.โ
While his exit came as a surprise, Holmes has no hard feelings towards the Cowboys or Todd Payten.
Instead, he is grateful for the opportunity to spend five seasons in his hometown, where he registered 93 matches and 787 points (35 tries, 319 goals and seven field goals).
However, he will now return to New South Wales, where he began his Cronulla Sharks career, and reunite with former coach Shane Flanagan, with whom he won the 2016 NRL Premiership.
It is understood that while there may have been ill feelings between the two in the past due to him making the switch to the NFL to pursue his dream, there was no lingering resentment.
โObviously I thought I was in a position to try to stay,โ Holmes toldย The Sydney Morning Herald.
โI probably haven't had my best year this year, but I didn't think I could be up and leaving with a year left on my contract.
โThere's obviously more to it: the salary cap problem, with my contract back-ended. They've got a lot of young players coming through that they don't want to lose.
โThere's nothing personal. You need to sacrifice one to sign a few more boys coming through.
"It's good, I don't want to keep anyone from making their debuts or having to move at a young age. It's business. As long as I'm going to a club that wants me, I'm excited by it.โ
