On target: Valentine Holmes, left, could top David Peachey's season record at Cronulla. "That was my main goal this year, to try to score at least one try per game. "It's round 11 so I am one behind, but I'd love to catch up there and get a try a game. "I got 16 last year so hopefully I'm getting close. "I'd love to be up there with the likes of Peachey."

There will be no sadness from Peachey should his long-standing record tumble. The man dubbed "Peach" has enjoyed the Sharks' renaissance as much as anyone and implored Holmes to reach the milestone when they crossed paths during the recent Indigenous round. "He should be able to do something as simple as 19 tries with his ability and talent and with the way the Sharks are playing," Peachey said. "He's only going to get better. I had the opportunity of going up to the Indigenous round up in Newcastle and that might have spurred him on to have me saying 19 is not a hard tally to chase. "It has stood for a while. When you look at a club like the Dragons, they had Nathan Blacklock scoring 27 tries. That's a formidable record. But just 19, with the way the Sharks are playing, if Valentine doesn't get it this year he won't be too far away. "I'd like to see it tumble. Along with a premiership. You can get all of those individual accolades along the way, but the way Valentine is playing he should get in the mid-20s.

"That is without over-exaggerating. That's how well the Sharks are playing." Holmes may not be the only Cronulla winger on track to make history. Sosaia Feki has posted eight tries on the opposite flank, raising the prospect of both setting a new mark. "Definitely, now that our back line is starting to play awesome and Benny [Barba] is playing awesome at the back, he's getting Fek and myself good ball, it's really nice," Holmes said. "I reckon we can probably both get there if we're determined." Cronulla's victory over Manly elevated them to the top of the NRL ladder for the first time in 16 years, raising hopes of a maiden premiership. The Sharks have a 20 points better differential than the Storm, with the bye ensuring both teams retain their positions at the top of the ladder.

Holmes, who is still only 20, believes he has become more consistent this season. "I'm getting more involved, I'm running around in the middle there with Benny and sniffing around with the forwards in the first few tackles and heading back to the edge," he said. "The coach is letting me do that and play my own game."