Holmes exit leaves Maroons door open for hungry Feldt

Valentine Holmes' pursuit of his NFL dream has left the door open for a Queensland Maroons wing position to be claimed and Cowboys flyer Kyle Feldt wants to get his foot in that door and bash it down.

Feldt is getting close, but the 26-year-old told NRL.com at the Emerging Maroons camp on Saturday at the Sunshine Coast that being close is no longer good enough.

"This is my third camp now. It is good, but it's bad. I'd really like to be in the team but this is as close as I am getting at the moment so I'd really like to push for a spot this year," Feldt told NRL.com.

"The door is slightly open so if I can my foot in there and really pry it open I would be happy. A lot of the boys say that once you are in there it is pretty hard to get kicked out.

"Everyone that plays rugby league wants to play Origin so I have to get some good consistent games under my belt at the start of the year and show Kevvie [Walters] that I am ready for it."

Feldt is coming off a season where he scored 14 tries and was the Cowboys' leading try scorer for the third consecutive season.

He is highly regarded by the Maroons brains trust for his penchant for coming up with big plays on the biggest stage. He has eight tries in his 13 NRL finals appearances with his four-pointer in the last second of regular time in the 2015 grand final the most famous.

Last year's try scoring tally was more meritorious after Feldt lost his right side talisman Michael Morgan to injury for 13 rounds.

"Last year was probably the best year and most consistent year that I've had in my career so I want to build on that and take it into the 2019 season," he said.

"Losing Morgo early in the season was pretty bad for our right edge but we charged on with Te Maire Martin stepping up and we were happy with what he did.

"It is obviously hard to get a try when you lose your main half but a thing I like to take into every game is that I am more than a big, powerful runner. I can finish a try and score one. Tries are what put the points on the board."

Feldt's Origin push will be made tougher by the progress of new Cowboys signing Nene Macdonald who joined him at the Origin camp.

"Nene is a good signing for us and I am looking forward to seeing what he can bring to the club because he is a big, powerful boy who can run the ball strong," Feldt said.

"He is even maybe as good as me at scoring tries and is really going to push for a spot in the Origin team so I have got to try and keep him off there and hopefully I get the call-up. It is good competition and we are looking forward to it. It makes it that little bit harder, but we are still going to have to stick together and help each other out at the Cowboys."

Cowboys assistant coach Josh Hannay told NRL.com in December that Feldt had returned to pre-season training in terrific shape and predicted he would take his game to even greater heights in the coming years if he could cut errors out of his game. Feldt topped the error count for the Cowboys in 2018 with 27 but is working hard to improve that area.

"It is a high-risk position that we play and there are a lot of good halves that can put up a good kick and they are always trying to find a way to get the wingers and fullback to knock it on," Feldt said.

"There is a lot of work that goes into it behind the scenes and I am just trying to keep the errors out."