He's been back in the NRL for barely a month after a year abroad but Valentine Holmes is showing no sign of rustiness, according to Cowboys captain Michael Morgan.
After toiling on the New York Jets practice squad for much of 2019 as he chased his NFL dream, Holmes inked a mammoth six-year deal with North Queensland in late November.
He set the NRL alight for Cronulla in 2018 but some have queried whether he can hit the ground running with his new club, citing Jarryd Hayne's sluggishness on return from his 2015 NFL sojourn.
Morgan can't see there being any such problems.
"I think when he first got back he was finding his feet back in the game a little bit," Morgan said after the club's second session of the year on Tuesday.
"Everyone talks about it being this huge transition for him but it wasn't really that long.
"People have longer off when they're injured than what he had, and he was still training and keeping fit the whole time. He's looking very good.
"He's brought a few different things for us in terms of footy that we probably had missed a little bit before he got here."
While noting that 24-year-old Holmes's strength is running the ball, Morgan hopes to see him also develop his passing skills.
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Holmes posted eight try assists in his final season with the Sharks as he blossomed in the No.1 jersey.
"He was sort of building that and he tries a few things at training which is what you want for his ball-playing ability," Morgan said.
"The more we can encourage him to do that and have him confident enough to do it, the better for us."
Holmes's arrival will almost displace Scott Drinkwater from the fullback role despite the youngster being a shining light after arriving midway through 2019.
Morgan believes there's room for the two attacking dynamos in the same side.
"Drinky missed all of the pre-Christmas training due to his knee, he had a meniscus scope I think," Morgan said.
"He did miss a lot of the footy stuff and that was his first day back out there today and he looked really good. It does make you sit back and think about what the team might be.
"It's a good problem to have. I'm sure that Greeny [coach Paul Green] would like to squeeze both of them in there somewhere. Where that is, I'm not too sure."
Personally, Morgan declared his intention to take the line on more this season.
"It's something that was always a strength and I probably went away from it trying to improve other areas," he said.
"So if I can bring a bit more of that back hopefully it's a good thing."
Meanwhile, off-contract utility forward John Asiata admitted to touring the Titans' facilities recently but insisted his focus remains on North Queensland.
"My job is to perform on the field and hopefully that can do the talking for where I want to be," Asiata said.
"Right now it's all about me preparing for 2020, putting my best foot forward for the Cowboys. They've done a lot for me throughout my career and I'm just trying to let the football do the talking."
