03 July 2023 , 16:00
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Sam Tomkins has warned Catalans’ Super League rivals that they only intend on getting better as this season rumbles on.
It is an ominous thought given the leaders are already on a seven-game winning run and four points clear at the top. They host strugglers Huddersfield on Saturday looking to further ram home their advantage and take a step closer to a second League Leaders’ Shield having also finished first in 2021. But ex-England captain Tomkins believes Les Dracs are still not playing at their best, as illustrated in Saturday’s 28-18 win at Hull.
They were cruising at 22-6 just before the break but conceded two quickfire tries to give their hosts a sniff. And boss Steve McNamara admitted his squad were annoyed with themselves afterwards despite picking up yet another success. Tomkins, 34, admitted: “It’s better to be winning and to be able to say that.
“But we know we gave Hull too many opportunities. We didn’t play well against Leigh the week before but managed to get the victory. We’ve played other teams recently who played better than us. We’ve got the job done but we know we’ve got a lot of improvement in us. There’s a long way to go: there’s ten games left so plenty of time to change a few things and make sure we do improve.”
Superstar Tomkins retires at the end of the season and would love to bow out having helped Catalans claim their first Super League title. They came close two years ago before losing to St Helens in the Old Trafford decider. But the French side seem to have matured since then and they look increasingly potent.
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Tomkins, back starring in his original stand-off position after years at full-back, won three Grand Finals with Wigan so knows what it takes. Asked what he thought of Catalans’ capabilities, he said: “Yes. We can win it. But the league is very close this year. Anyone in that top six could potentially do it. There’s only six points from top to sixth.
Catalans Dragons' Sam Tomkins (PA)“We’ve put ourselves in a good position and we do have a very good squad. I think the big thing every year is injuries and whether you can stay fit coming into this part of the season. Hopefully we can.”
Tomkins conceded there were some “harsh” reviews after Hull’s soft tries including on himself after he threw an intercept pass for Adam Swift to score on the interval hooter. They can ill-afford to be so careless again versus Huddersfield even though their opponents are in dire straits with just one win in nine games. He said: “You've always got to be wary of a team in that sort of position. They have a lot of good players in that squad so at some point they will hit their straps. We know we have to be better than what we showed at Hull. And we will."