Former Wigan coach Ian Millward says Sam Tomkins has “delivered zero” since he returned to the club from his spell in the NRL.
Millward, who coached Wigan as well as St Helens and Castleford in Super League, delivered a damning verdict of Tomkins’ time back in Super League following two significant injuries.
In his column for website Sporting Life, he said that the England international is yet to pay back the significant fee Wigan outlaid to get him back at the club from New Zealand Warriors.
“It’s time for Tomkins to stand up,” he told sportinglife.com.
“Wigan made him the player he was and paid massive money for him to return to the club.
“To this point, he’s delivered zero. A player like Sam Tomkins should win this game (versus Catalans) for them.
“He should be too quick and too skilful on a dry pitch.
“If he stands up, they get the result they need.”
Tomkins is likely to play at fullback again this weekend when the Warriors face Catalans – but coach Shaun Wane says he believes Tomkins is a better player now than 12 months ago.
“He’s playing better now than when he came back last year: he looks sharper,” said Wane.
“I think he’s smarter. He’s doing things off the ball, detail that people will see. He’s doing a lot for the team, a lot of talking and I look at games and get frustrated when we’re not going into certain areas as a team.
“When Sam plays, we do it, because he knows how I like to play. He’s nowhere near his best but from game one, he’s improved every week.”
