Holmes out to silence doubts

TO BE a great goal kicker in the NRL, the ability to block out distractions is paramount.

Fortunately for Valentine Holmes ( pictured) a jeering crowd will not be a factor.

The star fullback will assume the goal kicking responsibilities again tonight as the Cowboys look to tune out the white noise created by the coronavirus epidemic.

North Queensland and their Canterbury-bankstown opponents will be the first teams to play without spectators since the NRL imposed a lockout to all fixtures.

But, according to coach Paul Green, the presence of a vocal Bulldogs fanbase should be irrelevant to Holmes’ success with the boot.

Last week the Cowboys were denied a try through Mitch Dunn in the dying stages of the contest with the Brisbane Broncos.

Should that try have been awarded, and had Holmes nailed both his previous conversion attempts, it would have put the home side in front.

Green said round one emphasised how crucial goal kicking was at an NRL level.

“To be a good goal kicker you have to learn to block that stuff out, a lot of it is the mental side of it when you’re goal kicking,” he said.

“It keeps you in touch with your opposition. It changes your mindset and changes the way you think about your game, so any points are vital.”

Green has said previously that it would be unfair to expect Holmes to instantly light up the competition, and he reiterated that point yesterday.

The same was said about new halves pairing Michael Morgan and Scott Drinkwater, who both showed glimpses of what they were capable of against the Broncos but failed to stamp their authority for the full game.

Green said the more his side played together the better those new combinations would become. Now it was a matter of improving each week and finding consistency in their game.

“It is easy to focus on the bad parts of our game last week, which we’re not sugar coating either – they were pretty poor in some areas, but for a lot of it we were pretty good also,” he said.

“It’s about going out and showing everyone what we’re capable of doing, (but) talk is cheap – it’s about what we do.”

Given the hype around round one and the unveiling of Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Green said this week would be a different beast to last. But he said it was important for his side to find the positives in everything they did.

“The whole world has changed in that respect, hopefully it does give everyone a bit of a reset. We often talk about gratitude … this does put things in perspective for everyone.

“Hopefully it does teach us a bit of gratitude about what we do have and life can change pretty quickly.”

The Cowboys and Bulldogs will kick off tonight at 7.05.