Sam Tomkins says there’s no chance he’s missing out on their crunch game against Leeds Rhinos. The England captain has declared himself fit for Friday’s sudden-death play-off in Perpignan.
He injured his knee in the recent win against Toulouse meaning he missed the following fixture against Leeds and - like so many Dragons - also sat out Friday’s heavy loss at Wigan. Due to earlier injuries, full-back Tomkins didn’t feature in last month’s trip to Wakefield either or the home defeat to Salford but he maintains he’s ready to go now.
Tomkins, 33, said: “I’m well. It was just old age, I think. I’ve had a couple of bumps and bangs picked up over the years so we found a good opportunity to rest up before the important games.
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“This is why we start training in November, go through pre-seasons and all that tough stuff, for these last few weeks of the year. It’s the most exciting time and I never want to miss it.”
Tomkins was absent for last year’s Super League semi-final win over Hull KR with a knee injury that still plagued him in their Grand Final loss so it’s little wonder boss Steve McNamara has done all that he can to now protect his prize asset.
And Dragons fully expect Leeds to come out firing in Perpignan despite Saturday’s error-ridden victory over Castleford that sealed their play-offs spot.
“They are very dangerous when they have got the momentum,” added Tomkins. "They showed us exactly how they could do that not too long ago when they came back and beat us in the last few minutes. We know the threat they pose. They were very average against Castleford so they’ll want to improve a lot this week coming into the game against us.”
It is Leeds’ third trip to Stade Gilbert Brutus in just six weeks having come from 30-6 behind with 12 men to win 36-32 in Golden Point extra-time on July 30 before losing 32-18 there last Monday. Tomkins joked: “I’m sure they’ll be speaking French by now.
“It’s always a good game playing them so I don’t mind. It’s always a good contest. We’ll be expecting the best of Leeds and that wasn’t what they produced against Cas. They were well off the mark. They’ll admit that themselves with the amount of errors they made. We’ll be preparing for the best Leeds.”
Tomkins will be up against Richie Myler and he said: “When he plays well, the team plays well. He plays well with the half-backs they have in there. He’s much better at full-back than at half-back.”
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