St George Illawarra Dragons centre Valentine Holmes will be fit to play in Round 1 against the Canterbury Bulldogs.

Fears for the star State of Origin centre and goal kicker's trip to Las Vegas were raised on Thursday morning when a short snippet of a video appearing to show him clutching at a hamstring surfaced on social media.

Immediately sceptical fans were fearing a long lay off for Holmes, particularly given he hasn't been named for this weekend's final pre-season challenge game against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, but Zero Tackle has been told by the club that the snippet of the video was actually from something the club posted weeks ago, and that he has recovered from his injury well.

The club, instead of risking Holmes this weekend, made the decision to rest him.

"Valentine Holmes has recovered from a hamstring injury that occurred in early January," the Dragons wrote in a statement provided to Zero Tackle.

"He was available for selection in this weekend's Charity Shield match against the Rabbitohs, but a decision has been made that he will not play.

"He will be ready to line up in the round one season opener against the Bulldogs in Las Vegas."

Elsewhere, Jacob Liddle is recovering from a hamstring injury but will miss the season opener against Canterbury, while Dylan Egan is tracking for anywhere between Round 8 and 10 as he recovers from an ACL injury.

Former rugby union player Nathan Lawson is also returning from a foot injury, and due to be fit again in Round 4.

Holmes, one of the Dragons' most experienced players, will play a critical role for Shane Flanagan's side again in 2026 as they look to move away from the bottom of the table.

An injury-wrecked 2025 campaign saw the Dragons slump into the bottom four despite wins against three of the top four, and losing another six games by six points or less.

Holmes is an almost guaranteed starter for the Dragons, with Moses Suli to line up in the other centre spot. The wingers are far more up in the air, with new recruits David Fale and Setu Tu competing with Christian Tuipulotu and Tyrell Sloan for the run-on spots, while Clint Gutherson will start at fullback again.

The Dragons open their season on Sunday, March 1 (Australian time) against the Canterbury Bulldogs in Las Vegas, before playing their first game on Australian soil on Saturday, March 14 against the Melbourne Storm in Wollongong.