Valentine Holmes has vowed to repay the faith shown to him by Australia coach Mal Meninga, with the Kangaroos winger conceding he wasn’t sure if he’d be picked for the Pacific Championships after he was suspended for posting an image on social media of him holding a small bag containing white powder.
The September incident earnt the Cowboys star a one-match ban and a $25,000 fine for bringing the game into disrepute during the finals series.
“It’s an honour to be here. Everyone knows how successful Mal was as a coach and player. To have him backing me in such a huge occasion with the Pacific Nations , there are only three games and I couldn’t play in one of them. “It was a tough couple of days, but like anything, you have to move on, move forward, be better and learn from it.