Look out David Peachey, Andrew Ettingshausen and Mat Rogers – Valentine Holmes is after you.
While the Cronulla Sharks are already smashing records as a team, the young Sharks flyer has his sights set on a milestone of his own.
With seven rounds of the regular season remaining Holmes is still a chance of breaking the club’s all-time record for most tries in a season.
The 20-year-old has 13 tries so far and needs seven more to pass club legend David Peachey, who scored 19 in 1999 as the Sharks went on to win the minor premiership.
Holmes has already shown his try-scoring pedigree, crossing 16 times for Cronulla last season as he became the first Sharks player since Luke Covell in 2008 to reach double figures.
“It’s my goal to get the club record. I think it’s 19 or 20. So I want to get that and I wouldn’t mind being the NRL top try scorer,” Holmes said.
“I’d love to get back up there [as] the top try scorer. I think the Melbourne winger [Suliasi Vunivalu] has got a few more than me. So I’ve got to get back up there in these next [few] games. Hopefully I can get a couple [of tries] out of them.
“It’d definitely be a big privilege to be a part of something like that if I can get there. It’s definitely the main goal of mine for this year.”
Vunivalu already has 17 tries for the Storm and if Holmes is to break Peachey’s record he will need to pass club legends Ettingshausen (18, 1994) and Rogers (18, 2000) to get there.
Holmes’ next chance to move one step closer to the record will be on Sunday when the Sharks’ 14-game club record winning streak goes on the line against Newcastle.
It will also be a special day for Holmes, who will celebrate his 21st birthday.
He also has happy memories of facing the Knights after scoring four tries in Cronulla’s 62-0 demolition of Newcastle in round 10.
But Holmes said there was no chance of Cronulla taking the Knights lightly despite their lowly position on the table.
“It just depends how you turn up with your attitude,” he said.
“They’re not going too great but it is the NRL.
“You never know… but you can’t turn up to the game thinking we’ve already won it. We’ve still got to play like we’ve been playing the whole year.
“Hopefully we get a good win. I think we’ll probably go to the club afterward and have a function. [But] I’m not really worried about my 21st. I don’t really want to celebrate because it’s getting close to finals. I just want to keep playing good footy.”
