Slater mindful of Valentine factor
BILLY Slater has warned the Melbourne Storm must be mindful of Cronulla gamebreaker Valentine Holmes in Friday night’s preliminary final.
Holmes’ pace led the Sharks to victory last time the sides met and Slater does not want history to repeat in the grand final qualifier.
Slater yesterday raised the importance of keeping tabs on Holmes “at all times”.
“He’ll be an indicator of where they’re setting up their structure but also ( he’s) a damaging runner,” Slater said.
“Our kick chases need to be first class or else he’ll get them off to a good start, or he’ll make a line- break, so it’s important that we do a really good job on Val.”
Opposing fullback Holmes amassed 145 run metres in the Round 22 clash, including a momentum- shifting try and three tackle busts.
The Sharks boast an impressive strike rate over the Storm, having won four of the past five matches, including the breakthrough 2016 grand final victory.
But Slater said past performances had no bearing on the next 80 minutes of football.
“It all comes down to Friday night,” the retiring fullback said.
“I don’t think there’s a whole heap between the two teams, both teams have great forward packs; very aggressive, creative halves and skill out wide that can finish off tries.”
Slater also said the crunch final was more important than the possibility of it being his and Ryan Hoffman’s last NRL games.