Tomkins' No.1 goal

Shaun Wane has admitted he may move either Morgan Escare or Tomkins into a playmaker role.

Their spells in the team last season did not overlap, and with both fit, he has a welcomed headache on his hands. Tomkins (left) started his career as a fleet-footed stand-off before moving to the No.1 role in 2010.

He said: “I want to be in the team every week.

“I want to play full-back, that’s my ideal position.

“But I have competition there with Morgan, and potentially there’s room for me to play in the halves.

“Whatever Waney wants, I’d be happy with, as long as I’m in the 17.”

Escare figured 13 times last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Weeks later, Tomkins returned from a broken foot to play 15 matches.

If one of the full-backs moved into the halves to partner George Williams, it would allow Thomas Leuluai to move to hooker – a position many believe fits his style better.

“I’ve never played with Morgan, I’ve admired what he does on the field,” said 28-year-old Tomkins.

“I think when he was at Catalans he was under-played – I think they didn’t realise what they had there. Once he came to Wigan he started to hit some real form until his injury, which was a massive shame for him.

“But we’ll both be fit and I’m sure we’ll both be playing in the side together, which I’m looking forward to.”

Wane says he is ‘excited’ about seeing Tomkins next season once he has finished his first full pre-season since 2009.

Since then he has either been on England duty or injured. “I’ve not had one for a long time and so it’s a chance for me to make some strides and improve before the new season,” added Tomkins.

“It’s always great playing internationals and I’ve been lucky to do that a lot, and it’s nice to be kept out of pre-
season for that reason.

“But this year, with that not being the case, I’ve had a chance to work on things
 because once the season starts it’s tough to make any improvements.”