Valentine John Holmes (born 24 July 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre or winger for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League and Queensland Maroons in State of Origin.
Holmes previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL, with whom he won the 2016 NRL Grand Final as a winger. Holmes previously played for the North Queensland Cowboys, where he would transition into a centre from fullback. Holmes has played for Australia at international level as a winger, fullback and centre. Holmes was a winger for the Australian teams that won the 2016 Four Nations, the 2017 Rugby League World Cup and the 2022 Rugby League World Cup. Holmes has played in 4 State of Origin series wins for Queensland. In 2019, spent several months on the practice squad for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL) as a part of the league's International Player Pathway Program.
Holmes was born in Townsville, Queensland to a Cook Islands mother and a New Zealand father.
He has three older brothers and an older sister.
He played his junior rugby league in Townsville for the Western Lions, before being signed by National Rugby League club, the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, in 2012 at the age of 17.
Holmes moved to Sydney in 2013 to play for the Cronulla-Sutherland SG Ball Cup team. Later that year, he made his debut for the Sharks NYC team, scoring 17 tries in 10 games and played representative rugby league for the Queensland Under 18s team. In September 2013, Holmes, whose father is from New Zealand, was named in the 2013 Junior Kiwis train-on squad. In December 2013, Holmes was named in the 2014 Queensland Academy of Sport Under 20s Emerging Origin squad. Holmes played 33 games, scored 24 tries and kicked 53 goals for 202 points in his U20s career from 2013 to 2015.
In February, Holmes was selected in the Cronulla Auckland Nines squad. He played for the Queensland Under 20s team at fullback in the 30–8 loss to the Under 20s New South Wales team at Penrith Stadium. In Round 21, Holmes made his NRL debut for Cronulla-Sutherland against the Parramatta Eels on the wing in the 32–12 loss at Remondis Stadium filling in for Sosaia Feki who succumbed to an injury before the match. On 6 August, he extended his contract with the Cronulla club from the end of 2015, to the end of 2017. In Round 23 against the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park, Holmes scored his first NRL try in the 6–48 loss. Holmes finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 6 matches and scoring 3 tries. Holmes was named at wing in the 2014 NYC Team of the Year.
On 8 September, Holmes was named in the 2014 Junior Kangaroos train-on squad. A day later he was named in the New Zealand Kiwis train-on squad for the 2014 Four Nations. On 12 September, he pledged his allegiance to Australia. On 18 October, Holmes played on the wing for the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis at Mt Smart Stadium, scoring two tries in the 14–15 loss.
Holmes played for Cronulla-Sutherland in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines. On 2 May, he again played on the wing for the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis, scoring a try and kicking 1 goal in the 22-20 win. In Round 10 against the Gold Coast Titans, he kicked a field goal to win the match for Cronulla in their 23-22 golden-point extra-time victory at Cbus Super Stadium. In Round 19 against the Canberra Raiders, he repeated his efforts, kicking another field goal in extra-time to win the match 21-20. He finished off the season as Cronulla's highest try-scorer with 16 tries, as well as kicking 11 goals and 3 field goals in 25 matches.
Holmes was selected in the QAS Emerging Maroons squad, but on 31 January, while in the Emerging Maroons camp, he broke curfew and was fined for public nuisance and obstructing Queensland Police. The QRL announced he would be excluded from its representative programs for the next 12 months. He was then stood down from the Sharks' 2016 NRL Auckland Nines squad after previously being named. In Round 10 against the Newcastle Knights, he scored 4 tries in Cronulla-Sutherland's 62-0 win. Holmes was part of the squad which won the 2016 NRL Grand Final, 14-12 against the Melbourne Storm. Holmes finished the season playing 23 games and scoring 19 tries, once again Cronulla's highest try scorer.
Holmes was later selected for the Australian test side to face New Zealand on 15 November. Holmes scored a try on debut for the Australians in his side's 26-6 win.
Holmes was selected to play for Australia in the 2017 ANZAC Test. Later that season, he was selected to make his State of Origin debut for Queensland in Game II, scoring a try. He was then selected in Game III, where he scored three tries.
After being named in Australia's 2017 Rugby League World Cup squad, Holmes set a Test and World Cup record by scoring five tries in the quarter-final against Samoa in Darwin. Only a week later, he broke his own record by scoring six tries in the semi-final against Fiji at Suncorp Stadium. He set another record by scoring a total of twelve tries throughout the World Cup.
In round 12 of the 2018 NRL season against the Newcastle Knights, Holmes scored a hat trick of tries in Cronulla's 48-10 win at Hunter Stadium. At the season's conclusion, Holmes was the second highest try-scorer and lead the season in highest amount of line-breaks. At the end of the season, Holmes won the Monty Porter Medal for Player of the Year and the Tommy Bishop Player's Player Award.
In November 2018, Holmes was released from his contract with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League to chase his dream to one day play in the National Football League. Two years earlier, Holmes and North Queensland Cowboys forward Jason Taumalolo attended NFL trials in Los Angeles, with fifteen NFL teams expressing interest in both.
On 24 November 2019, Holmes returned to rugby league, signing a six-year deal with the North Queensland Cowboys, beginning in 2020.
In Round 1 of the 2020 NRL season, he made his debut for North Queensland in their 21–28 loss to the Brisbane Broncos. He scored the team's first try in the game, becoming the first Cowboys player to score a try at Queensland Country Bank Stadium. In Round 5, Holmes injured his ankle in a loss to the New Zealand Warriors, which ruled him out for two weeks.
In his second game back from injury, a 16–42 loss to the Sydney Roosters, Holmes reinjured his ankle and missed seven weeks. He returned from injury in Round 16, against his former club, the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. In Round 17, Holmes kicked the winning field goal in golden point to defeat the St. George Illawarra Dragons 23–22 and snap North Queensland's nine-game losing streak.