Valentine Holmes only turned 20 a couple of weeks back and already Andrew Johns has labelled him an “absolute superstar” in the making.
But growing up in Townsville, Cronulla’s kid dynamite was literally the unwanted Cowboy.
Holmes recalled ahead of Cronulla’s clash with North Queensland tonight: “I used to go to all the games with my mates and watch them.
“They had eyes for one of my best mates who is at the Broncos now, (under 20s fullback) Paul Byrnes.
“I wasn’t that good.
“I didn’t really make the rep sides.”
But the Cowboys reject now has a growing fan club that even includes a rugby league Immortal.
Holmes grew up and played his junior football in Townsville.
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After watching the highlights of Holmes’ stunning two-try performance against the Warriors last weekend, Johns told The Sunday Football Show: “When Valentine Holmes goes to fullback next year you are going to see an absolute superstar of our game.
“Some of the things he does ... he is freakish.”
While Holmes said he can’t wait to make the move to fullback when Michael Gordon departs for Parramatta, he just hopes it doesn’t come at a cost.
Currently weighing 88kg, he knows he will have to put on some extra muscle to handle the switch.
Which he is happy to do, as long as it doesn’t detract from his prime asset.
“I think they have wanted me to put on a bit of weight but my main thing in my game is my speed,” he said.
“I don’t mind putting on weight but as long as I don’t lose my speed I will be happy.”
As easy as it looks for him on the field, Holmes admitted he struggled to adjust to living so far away from home when he first arrived in Sydney as a 17-year-old.
At one point he had his bags packed and was ready to head back to Townsville before he’d even played under 20s.
“It was really hard,” Holmes said.
“It was a big difference to Townsville.
“My mum would call every night and there was a point where I did get homesick for a little while.
“I wanted to go home.
Holmes is the Sharks leading try scorer this season.
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“I packed my bags and they were at the front door.
“My manager came past actually because I told him I was going to go.
“He came past and sat me down and spoke to me for a bit.
“That was like towards the end of the SG Ball.
“The next week I found out I was debuting for 20s.
“That pretty much made me stay.”
And with his brother moving down to help ease the homesickness, Holmes never looked back.
After making his NRL debut in round 18 last year, Holmes kicked off 2015 with a magical after the siren sideline drop goal that levelled the scores in the final of the Auckland Nines.
So far he has scored 14 tries this season.
To put that in perspective, it is more than twice as many tries as any of his Cronulla teammates, and also more than any player in the Cowboys team.
Not bad for a kid who couldn’t crack a rep team as a teenager in Townsville.
