Former Warriors’ star comes out of retirement…

Former New Zealand Warriors fullback Sam Tomkins has backflipped on his retirement and will finish the 2024 English Super League season with the Catalans Dragons.

The shock decision could see him line up for the Dragons as soon as next weekend.

First reported by Sky Sports’ Jenna Brooks, Tomkins has now commented to confirm his return to the park for the remainder of 2024.

https://x.com/JennaBrooks/status/1814368341424750726

“Steve said a couple of weeks ago ‘What do you think the chances are of you coming back?’ And in the last two weeks that’s progressed to where I’ve signed for Catalans until the end of the season,” Tomkins told the English publication.

“At the start of this week, we had a meeting and Steve said to the players ‘We have got a new player, Sam is going to be available to play’.”

Tomkins, who retired in 2023 as persistent knee issues hampered the back end of his career, has been in an off-field role with the club this year.

A former English representative with 29 Tests under his belt, Tomkins will be most well-known to Australian and New Zealand-based fans after his mixed two-year stint with the New Zealand Warriors in 2014 and 2015.

On either side of that, he played 213 games with the Wigan Warriors from 2008 to 2013, and again from 2016 to 2018, before playing another 103 games across the final four seasons of his career before retirement with Catalans in the south of France.

The Dragons currently sit in fifth spot on the Super League table and are in the mix to play finals football. Tomkins’ return will add valuable experience to the side, although it’s likely it will be a short-term return, not extending into 2025.