Queensland Maroons centre Valentine Holmes has revealed he is "a little bit nervous" ahead of his first appearance at centre in the State of Origin arena.
Holmes made the switch to the centres ahead of the 2022 season, and has thus far proven his doubters wrong with the Cowboys' jersey on.
Formerly a winger and a fullback, he made the switch to ensure the Cowboys could accomodate not only Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow at fullback, but Murray Taulagi and Kyle Feldt on the wings.
Short in the centres, Holmes' move was born out of neccessity, but has been a strong option for the club, with both Holmes and Peta Hiku playing strongly in the Cowboys incredible shoot up the ladder, where they now appear in the top four.
Holmes told reporters on Saturday that he is nervous.
"I'm comfortable in the sense I know where I am playing. But it is a new position for me in this arena," Holmes said.
"So I am a little nervous.
"But I have (Cameron) Munster inside me, Xavier Coates there.
"And we all know how good Munster is defensively, he is always working his backside off. He will always cover me if I make the wrong decision."
It's made tougher by the fact he will have to try and contain Brisbane gun Kotoni Staggs, who is set to make his Origin debut for the Blues after both Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic were ruled out with injury.
Holmes already has the wood over Staggs from the Cowboys' early season victory over the Brisbane Broncos, but has admitted the match up at Origin level will be a difficult one.
"He's a handful," Holmes said.
"It's just about getting up in his face early and try and shut down his space. He wants the ball early and wants to run.
"He is very powerful and very quick.
"I just have to try and cut down his time as much as I can without pulling myself too far out of the line.
"We have to stick to our defensive structures. But I also want to make sure I am doing a good job on him."
