Tomkins could make Wigan return against Salford

Wigan coach Shaun Wane has confirmed that Joel Tomkins is in line to play against Salford on Thursday evening.

The backrower recently returned to rugby league from a spell in rugby union with Saracens, and has been training well, according to his coach.

“I’m thinking soon, if not this Thursday then it’ll be against Hull KR,” Wane said.

“I’m really keen to get him out there. He’s training really hard, he’s doing some wrestling.

“He’s looking fit and strong and skilful, so I’m very keen to put him in. If I feel he’s good enough on Wednesday, then I’ll play him on Thursday.”

Salford have been improving in recent weeks, and Wane is expecting a tough test from a team who play in a similar style to his own.

“They play very similarly to us. Their staff have taken a lot from what we do over here,” he said.

“When we played Salford earlier in the year, we had eight or nine missing, and beat them by a quite a few points, so I’m sure they’ll be hurting from that performance.

“We cancelled each other out for large parts of that first game at Salford, and I’m expecting the same thing again this Thursday.

“It’s the team which has the most desire who’s going to win, and I’m hoping that it’s going to be us.”

Wigan are recovering from a surprise defeat to Bradford Bulls at the weekend. Wane has had the players in on their day off this Tuesday to help inculcate a better mentality.

“They’re very honest in how they judge themselves, and that’s the sort of environment I want,” he explained.

“I don’t expect to see that sort of performance again. I don’t take defeats well at all, particularly defeats at Bradford, when they’ve been relegated.

“We turned up with a poor attitude and got what we deserved, and that was nothing.

“I expect a change in attitude, a change in mentality, and a change in the way we play.

“I don’t want to see that performance again. The players have been really good for me, while I’ve been here, they’ve been really honest.

“I expect them to make sure that we never dip to those levels again, and we keep to a certain level of performance.”