McNamara has ‘no concerns’ over McIlorum and Tomkins incidents

Steve McNamara shrugged off accusations that his Catalans side displayed dirty tactics in their preliminary semi-final win over Leeds Rhinos.

Michael McIlorum and Joel Tomkins were involved in controversial challenges on Brad Dwyer and Richie Myler respectively, although both players avoided any punishment from referee Chris Kendall.

They now face an anxious wait with the RFL disciplinary panel likely to review both incidents ahead of the Dragons semi-final showdown with St Helens next week.

Reflecting on Tomkins’ challenge, McNamara said: “There is nothing in that! And in terms of Michael McIlorum, I did get asked on Sky about the incidents, which I was not sure what they were talking about.

“If you are talking about that then, well, this is not semi-final football without maybe a high tackle so, for me, I have no concerns.”

Shifting away from Joel, McNamara did have time to reflect on the impact of his brother Sam Tomkins who produced a Man of the Match display in Warrington.

“Sam was good tonight. He is experienced. He has been involved in those games,” added the Catalans head coach.

“He understands the big moments in these games. He nailed three in the first half, such as a bit of magic for Israel for one of the tries from his kick.

“He put us in a strong position and we needed it because I always knew that in the second half, there was always going to be a stage where we hit some tough moments and we did.”