He will come to the Warriors touted as one of the best players in the world - but there was a time when Sam Tomkins wasn't sure if he would make it in the sport.
Tomkins, who made a fleeting promotional visit to Auckland over the past seven days, was far from an instant sensation at his hometown club. As a teenager, he found himself at a crossroads, unsure if he would find a place in the professional game.
"I got to 16 and I was far from one of the best players," Tomkins told the Herald on Sunday.
"Wigan were signing kids at 16 from school and paying them thousands of pounds but they said to me 'No, you're on a pay-as-you-play deal; you'll play in the under-18s team and if you get picked and win, you get 25 ($49), that's it'."
At the end of that season, Tomkins, a lifelong Wigan fan, was still at the back of the queue.