Tomkins slams Warriors discipline

Sam Tomkins has criticised the culture and ethos at the New Zealand Warriors, as he nears the end of his second season in the NRL.

Writing in his column in the New Zealand Herald, Tomkins has taken aim at some of his colleagues and their habits when he first arrived at the club.

“I was quite surprised at the culture when I first arrived here in January 2014. It wasn’t very strict compared to what I had been used to,” he said.

“It was a little more relaxed, which isn’t necessarily is a good thing and, overall, there probably wasn’t enough discipline.

“It became obvious things like punctuality – people would be late more often than I had experienced – or not doing the right things in training or away from the club were happening. Essentially, individuals were not being entirely professional.

“Even though you might be at training for five or six hours a day, it doesn’t stop there – you have a duty to be looking after yourself and not everyone was doing that.

“It was polar opposites compared to my experiences in England.”

Tomkins has insisted that the situation was almost completely opposite to the culture he had worked under at Wigan, especially when Michael Maguire was coach.

“It was a shock for me here at first but it’s definitely moving in the right direction and completely different to how it was. It’s now becoming that strict, professional environment paramount for success,” he added.

“Chief executive Jim Doyle and coach Andrew McFadden have been driving the new culture but no one person can make every change at once. It’s got to evolve, through the players and staff.”