Holmes pushing Origin centre case against mate Hammer

Valentine Holmes is confident he could do a job for Queensland and mark Tom Trbojevic in the centres after making a seamless transition to the edge for the Cowboys in 2022.

Holmes, who was at CommBank Stadium shooting a commercial for DoorDash alongside Ryan Papenhuyzen and Corban Baxter, has scored nine tries in 10 State of Origin appearances for the Maroons.

Holmes has made the wing spot his own at the representative level with his nine Origin tries coming from seven games on the edge while he scored 11 tries in two games for Australia at the 2017 World Cup.

“It’s not too much of a change to wing but just more defensive decisions with your halfback next to you,” he told NRL.com.

“I’m making more tackles than I ever have and am a bit sorer after games but I’m enjoying it.

“It seems to be going well for the team. That’s the way we’ve trained all pre-season and adding Hammer (Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow) to that.

“I had a full pre-season at left centre so I was up against Peta Hiku the whole time and he’s very good at challenging you to get better.

“I feel like Todd [Payten] and Youngy (Dean Young) have been doing a good job with me there.”

Cowboys teammate Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow is the incumbent left centre for the Maroons after starring in Origin III last year however Holmes is ready to take the next step in the centres.

With the likes of Maroons wingers Xavier Coates, Corey Oates and Kyle Feldt in form, new coach Billy Slater might have an easier choice with his centres given a shortage on specialists in recent years.

Back-rower Kurt Capewell filled in for two games last year on the left edge, where he struggled against Trbojevic, while Dane Gagai occupied the right side.

Gagai is expected to make a return to the field in time for Origin I on June 8 after fracturing his cheekbone last month.

“Hopefully he’s back and up for selection,” Holmes said of Gagai. “There’s a lot of options this year. I don’t think we’re short for outside backs but I'll put my hand up to play centre, yeah.

“We’ve got a lot of outstanding players doing well at the moment. I've filled in a couple of times but never started there at Origin. We'll see what Billy does.”

Holmes was buoyed by the chance to return to Suncorp Stadium on Sunday with the Cowboys enjoying a strong start to the year to sit third on the Telstra Premiership ladder.

The Cowboys starred the last time the side played at the venue against the Broncos with Holmes a standout on the left edge.

“This will be my second time playing in Magic Round,” Holmes said.

“It’s an awesome weekend and massive for rugby league in Brisbane. We’re really happy with how things have been going.

“Getting a few new players with Chad [Townsend] and Pet (Peta Hiku), they add experience to our side. We weren’t happy with how we finished last year and that alone is enough motivation.”