Star Cowboys signing Valentine Holmes showed some positive signs against the Storm on Saturday night and veteran coach Paul Green says he is only going to get better.
Holmes played 80 minutes at fullback for the Cowboys during their 22-14 pre-season trial loss to the Storm and even crossed over for his first try since returning from a one-year stint in the NFL.
While a pre-season trial match at Casey Fields in Melbourne's south-east is a long way from his glory days at the Sharks, Holmes showed enough with ball in hand to suggest he will be a menace to opposition defences this season.
He combined well with experienced skipper Michael Morgan, the experienced Cowboys skipper putting in a deft kick for the star back to run on to early in the second half.
Morgan and Holmes combine for try against Storm
Green said Holmes and Morgan are starting to forge an excellent combination and he expects it to get even better as the season progresses.
"Val is getting better with each game he has played," Green said after the loss.
"He has only played a couple of games, but he is getting better each week.
"It was a nice play they (Morgan and Holmes) came up with and they are starting to get to know where each other are and where they want each other.
"So, the more time they play together the better they will become."
Holmes sets up Feldt
The Cowboys finish the pre-season with a win and a loss, following their first-up triumph over the Broncos earlier this month.
While Green said he was satisfied with what he got from the two trial matches, he knows there is plenty of work for his charges to do prior to their regular-season opener against the Broncos.
"Today was a trial match so you are not going to get too disappointed or too excited either way," he said.
"There were a couple of things we were really poor, particularly our ball control, and we had a few chances early in that game and we failed to convert.
"There were a lot of disruptions last year and this year it has gone a lot smoother for us, so I am happy as I can be after a losing game."
