Former Catalans Dragons boss Steve McNamara stated that Joel Tomkins is a good appointment for the club, but insists that he needs the correct support around him so he can succeed.
McNamara hadn’t coached the Dragons since mid-May, but it wasn’t announced by the club until the end of June, when Tomkins had already coached five games as interim.
Since he now has the job full-time until the end of the 2027 season, McNamara said the key to his appointment is having a team around him so he can focus on coaching.
Speaking to Sky Sports’ Brian Carney and Jon Wilkin after the Wakefield Trinity and Leeds Rhinos match, he said: “First and foremost, I brought Joel in as a defensive coach because of his qualities.
“What Joel’s got is experience of being a Dragon, as a player and a coach; he’s got fantastic knowledge of the game.
“What he’s lacking is a bit of experience, in terms of coaching ranks, so the support mechanisms around him need to be huge.
“That has to be very, very important for a young coach going into an organisation like that, like a general manager, sporting director, all of those are doing a host of other jobs behind the scenes, so he can solely coach.”
Former Catalans Dragons boss shares his coaching plans for the future
McNamara also shared his future plans following his departure from Catalans Dragons and admitted that he’s open to any and all options, even outside of rugby league.
He finished: “No idea, I’m really open. I’ve had some brilliant jobs, exciting ones, challenging ones, and hopefully, my next opportunity will be one of those.
“Whether that’s league or union, England, France, Australia or New Zealand, who knows?
“I’m not going to rush into anything at this stage. I want to make sure I get time to reflect a little bit and learn.
“Whenever that next challenge is, I’ll be ready to attack it.”
Steve McNamara speaks about his departure from Catalans Dragons and Joel Tomkins’ appointment as his successor 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/cfGmdM7cqI
— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) July 24, 2025
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