After taking over as interim coach in May, when Steve McNamara was sacked, Joel Tomkins has now become the official head coach of Catalans Dragons.
However, in his time as interim head coach, he has achieved just one win in eight matches. He will have plenty of changes to make and faces a huge task if he is to rebuild the culture of the club and bring success back to the south of France.
Here are three things the former Wigan Warriors forward needs to be at the top of his priority list if he is to rebuild the Perpignan club to the title contenders they once were at the start of the decade.
Catalans Dragons To Do list
Contract Negotiations:
Last week, we assessed who was without a contract for the 2026 season at Catalans with the list topping 14 players, indicating a key restructure was needed.
Tevita Pangai Jr’s move to Warrington has been confirmed since then, but Les Dracs still have plenty of work to do with getting players signed on the dotted line.
Key players such as Theo Fages, Reimis Smith and Bayley Sironen have yet to decide their futures, and Tomkins will need to work with Bernard Guasch quickly before other teams swoop for their signature.
Issues in the Spine:
The Dragons attack has been woeful this season, scoring just 278 points, which is the third lowest in the league. Sam Tomkins’ injuries have meant that youngster Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet has had to be rushed into the side, whilst former NRL Grand Final winner Luke Keary has had a shocking start to life in the Super League.
Arthur Mourgue was supposed to be Catalans number seven, but he left to join Hull KR, leaving options in the playmaking positions very limited.
Denive Balmforth has impressed in his time on loan from Hull FC, and has brought a quickness to the Dragons’ ruck but it is still not enough for them to improve in attack.
Address the Aging Pack:
Catalans are in a situation currently that the majority of their forward pack are over the age of 30. Unlike backs, forwards do tend to hit their prime later in their career and can play for a year or two longer.
However, the lack of young forwards coming through at the Dragons can be a cause for concern. The current squad may be Super League quality, but there is currently too many players coming to the end of their careers and not enough being developed and brought through the system.
Back rowers Tariq Sims and Elliott Whitehead are both 35, Julian Bousquet is 34 and Ben Garcia and Chris Satae are 32. They could all potentially go round for at least one more year, but there are very few players in the Dragons’ first team setup that are young forwards.
