Valentine Holmes called out by Brad Fittler as NRL hands down ban over 'lazy' act

Valentine Holmes' second sin-bin in as many weeks has resulted in both a significant sanction from the NRL and a grilling from league great Brad Fittler, with the North Queensland Cowboys star handed a three-week ban for a high tackle. The NRL judiciary took a dim view of Holmes' high shot on Gold Coast Titans player Jayden Campbell, which added a further twist to the shock 22-13 loss.

The defeat put a major dent in the Cowboys' top eight hopes, seeing them drop to eighth on the ladder and at risk of falling victim to the likes of Parramatta and Manly in the final weeks of the home and away season. Holmes will only be available for selection in round 27, the final game of the regular season.

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The Cowboys held a 13-10 lead at halftime, but were reigned in by the Titans in the second half. Afterwards, Fittler was less than impressed by the Cowboys display, and took aim at Holmes after his second sin binning in as many weeks.

" I've got to say I think they've been a little bit lazy, they've completed high (but) their discipline was poor," he told channel Nine. "Val Holmes, he did it last week, I thought that he had a problem and was a bit lazy with his technique, he got caught out today and cost his team a try."

Fellow commentator Andrew Johns was in agreement, describing the hit on Campbell as a 'bad one' and suggesting his earlier sin-bin against the Eels the week prior had been a 'warning' that the NRL followed through on after his subsequent hit last weekend.

Fittler added that he believed the Cowboys had been on the wrong end of some contentious calls, but said Holmes' sin-bin was a simple call. He said that it was a symptom of wider problems afflicting the side in the home stretch of the regular season.

"They've completed so high, I reckon they've had a lot of calls go against them especially down on their line, I thought there was some ridiculous calls really but they've looked lazy, not supporting each other, I don't see that ad lib play that's threatening," he said. "Without Scott Drinkwater I feel like there's not much attack in them."

Cowboys count cost of brutal loss to Titans

In addition to the absence of Holmes, the Cowboys are going to have to deal with further setbacks stemming from the loss to the Titans. Coen Hess and Luciano Leilua were also placed on report, while Reece Robson's availability remains to be seen after undertaking a HIA.

The Titans deserved their victory at Cbus Super Stadium in front of 16,516 fans on an afternoon when winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira notched his 18th try of 2023 to become the highest try-scorer in a season for the club.

"It is a really great achievement. I'm sure it is something he will look back on and be very proud of," Titans coach Jim Lenihan said. "I think the try-scoring part for him is the easy part. He has got better defensively and in all the little efforts off the ball."

The win broke a four-game losing streak for the hosts and ended a six-match winning sequence for the Cowboys. Titans outside backs Brian Kelly and Phil Sami, who signed contract extensions until the end of 2026 during the week, combined for a 23rd-minute try to Sami as the Titans made the most of having an extra man.

"We didn't have enough field position. We didn't make enough tough decisions in key moments," Payten said. "They just ran harder and tackled harder."

With AAP

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