Sam Tomkins call to be made as honest take given on Catalans Dragons season
Sam Tomkins is still to make a final call on his playing future, with Catalans Dragons boss Steve McNamara confirming that such a 'conversation' is still to be had. Tomkins made a sensational comeback to Super League at the end of July, with the full-back coming out of retirement to line up against Hull FC.
The 35-year-old, who retired for the first time at the end of 2023, has since played six games, the last of which came in Catalans' 24-4 success over the Black and Whites on Saturday afternoon. But a decision on whether or not he will line up again in 2025 is still to be made.
Speaking post-match, McNamara said: "We don't know for definite. We've not had that conversation yet, but he's certainly made a difference to us in terms of his experience when he's been on the field. He's played without training, a pre-season, or anything like that, so we'll see with Sam."
Meanwhile, Catalans will undergo a series of 'reviews' next week after missing out on the Super League play-offs. The French side finished in seventh spot after their final round win at the MKM Stadium. However, their fate was already secured after Leigh's thrilling victory over St Helens on Friday night.
Asked how tough it was to watch on, McNamara gave an honest account, with the Hull-born coach declaring that his side are not deserving of a top-six place. He said: "It was hard; we won't deny that. We had our fingers and toes crossed, and we were hoping for a couple of results to go our way, but that's the reality of the situation we're in as a club. We shouldn't be relying on other people's results to get our job done. That sums our season up, and in this sport, you get what you deserve.
"We don't deserve to be in the six; it's as simple as that. It would have been great to have sneaked in and found a way to get there and do that—but maybe this is the full reality check that we need as a team and as a club to get ourselves moving again. Those moments have been happening—players we've signed, staff we've signed, and everything else. There will be lots of change. We need to be really prepared and ready for next season."
In a passionate account, McNamara declared the lack of detailed preparation for 2024 as a reason for their below-par campaign, with Super League's longest-serving coach insisting that the club won't make 'the same mistake again.'
"That was one of our errors," McNamara continued. "Last season, myself included, we were really blinkered in terms of going for a Grand Final win. We went all out for that. There were lots of players leaving, and we probably never prepared early enough last season for this season. I take responsibility for some of that and it's shown this year. We're not going to make that same mistake again.
"The process has been happening now behind the scenes in terms of getting ready for 2025. That's not a deflection in terms of 2024; we should have done better, and we could have done a lot better. We've had a lot of adversity, as other teams have had, but we've not dealt with it as well as others have.
"We've got 30 points in the league table, which has generally been enough in any other season. That usually gets you in the play-offs, but not this year, as the standard has gone up a little bit. We're licking our wounds, we're hurting, and we're disappointed as a club and a team that we're not in the play-offs, but we don't deserve to be there."
Finishing second, fourth, first, and fourth over the last four seasons, Catalans have been a competition juggernaut in recent times, with McNamara determined now to get the Perpignan-based club back up among the elite. He added: "The expectation is over the roof now, based on what we've done in the previous few years and over a consistent period of time.
"It's one thing that we were always labelled as: an inconsistent team, but we managed to rectify that and finish in the top four for four years consecutively, we made a couple of Grand Finals, but we've slipped this year, and as an organisation, not just the team, it's a reality check for us that you have to be ready every single year. We've learned that lesson and like I said, we will work extremely hard to make sure that in 2025, we're back on track."
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