Phil Gould says the North Queensland Cowboys may have been sold on Valentine Holmes as a fullback when he was really a winger, but blaming the former Cronulla Sharks player would be unfair.
After Holmes' average debut in Townsville with his new team last weekend, Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler both called for his move to the wing, with Jake Clifford shifting into the halves and Scott Drinkwater at fullback.
But that would be a tough pill to swallow for the Cowboys who signed Holmes as a fullback on a multi-million dollar, six-year deal after his failed stint in the NFL.
"That's a high-priced winger. That's what happens when you sign people on this money to play a [specific] position," Gould told Wide World of Sports' Six Tackles with Gus podcast.
"We've always thought that [he was a winger], everyone has, the only one that hasn't is Valentine himself. He and his management wanted to sell him as a fullback, because you get more money as a fullback.
"I think he's a winger. I think he could be the world's best winger. He probably is the world's best winger, even though he hasn't played for a while."
https://omny.fm/shows/six-tackles-with-gus/round-two/embed?style=coverHolmes, 24, has 13 Kangaroos caps and has played five games for Queensland during his stellar rugby league career from 2014 which began in the NRL with Cronulla.
Gould believes the Cowboys will stick it out for now with Holmes at fullback and warned that the former New York Jets running back's NRL return is the least of their concerns right now - he's actually in fact a 'victim'.
"He's dynamic. What he's done in Origin and for the Cronulla Sharks was brilliant," Gould said.
"I think they'll persevere. They've got to give him an opportunity to come good.
"He's not the problem with the Cowboys. The fact he's playing fullback is not the issue. I can guarantee you.
"He might be a victim of what's wrong with the Cowboys, but he's not the problem with the Cowboys."
Meanwhile, Queensland legend Darren Lockyer says the Cowboys would only be hurting themselves by keeping Holmes at fullback and urged them to instead embrace having a million-dollar winger.
"Regardless of how much he's been paid you can play him anywhere," Lockyer told Wide World of Sports' QLDER.
"From my perspective, 12 months before he left the game I didn't think he could be a fullback. But then he totally exceeded my expectations.
"He developed the pass and was very good at getting his outside men into space. I just think it's going to take a bit of time to get back into that groove.
"He made a couple of errors with the football [in the loss to Brisbane Broncos in round one], but he came from the winter of New York to Townsville. I know it was only training, but that's a fair contrast in terms of the environment you're paying footy.
"I think it's just about letting the dust settle and handling that expectation."
from WWOS http://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/valentine-holmes-phil-gould-defends-expensive-winger-north-queensland-cowboys/a5df9849-6707-42e8-9def-fba938c3d46d
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