Sam Tomkins played well today for NZ Warriors. His linkups with the outside backs, involving timing his runs and slick passing, are excellent. Case in point was the last try by Konrad Hurrell.

Put that try down to Johnson, an oustanding quick pass right at the line to bring tomkins into play, from there all tomkins had to do was draw and pass.



Mixed bag from Tomkins, some decent link up play in attack but also some handling errors.



Tomkins is doing pretty well in the nrl aso far but when you look at all the other quality fullbacks and some of the things they produce he doesn't stand out as anything special, just an above average decent player.



When you think of how much he used to dominate super league it's another reminder of the quality of the nrl.

I think Tomkins has done quite a few special things already. Sure, when compared with Hayne and Inglis, he's not in their league, but nobody else is either. I think he stands tall in the next group though, which still makes him very good. If he can cut down on his errors, he may even nail down the 3rd best spot in time.

I would be looking for Tomkins to nail down 4th or 5th spot, not 3rd, in the future. After all there is Hayne, Inglis and Slater as well taking up the first tier. And let's not forget Brett Stewart, who is a little out of sorts at the moment.

Not the case. Penrith are contributing towards Walsh's salary here at Saints. Our coach and chairman pulled off an astute piece of business. Luke Walsh is exactly the kind of half we needed - an organiser with a good kicking game. He's a perfect fit for us. A peach of a deal and I hope he stays. He is a classy player.

So, of all the poms playing in the NRL, who can we consider the best?



Graham, Burgess(s), Widdop or Tomkins?

In this order I'd take S. Burgess, G. Burgess, Graham, Tomkins, Widdop.

James Graham.

I think Sam is still clearly the best, which is a shame, since he's leaving. George and Graham are so different, it is hard to compare, but I would probably take George at the Raiders if given the choice. Graham is worth so much to the Dogs though.





Fair call. I did forget Slater, who proved not only in Game I, but in his last few appearances for the Storm, he is certainly not done yet. Easily QLD's best last Wednesday. Picked out Beau Scott all night and got him all but for the attempt after the 80 minute siren.

Tomkins has done fairly well so far but as someone else pointed out, he's just a decent full back in the NRL, not the superstar he was in SL. He's made plenty of errors too. I'm a Tomkins fan but always questioned whether his ability to shine would be stifled in the NRL with their faster, more agile and more intelligent defences and so far that seems to largely be the case.



Sam, George and Tom were outstanding for Souths this morning. Very few defences can handle them when they get a roll on and they ploughed deep furrows through St George all game, with some huge tackles from Sam. I don't care if he's going to yawnion, we need him until the day his RU begins.



All the English lads are doing fantastically so far. Mossop was 18th man for the Eels this week and has been told he'll get his shot when one of the current first team players in his position can't play.

In my opinion James Graham has been the most consistently good English player in the NRL this year. He’s one of the Bulldogs senior players and is very important to them. He never seems to be anything but excellent.



Sam Burgess is also very good too and almost on a par with Graham. George Burgess is very good too but doesn’t play the long minutes of Sam Burgess or James Graham as he’s more of an impact player.



I’d say they’re the top 3.



Tomkins has taken time to find his feet and has had to come into a side that isn’t as good as the Rabbits or Bulldogs. Early on in the season the Warriors were woeful but since McFadden took over they’ve improved. I think he’ll get better but he’s in a more exposed position than all the other imports so an average game from him looks worse than it would from a forward.



I thought Widdop looked excellent early on but the Dragons have struggled lately and the Marshall sideshow won’t help them. Like all halfbacks he does better when the forwards are on top and St George have struggled at times in that department. He’s also not had a consistent halfback partner of any real quality. I’m not sure Marshall is the answer either with him being so off the cuff.



I think Cooper’s done well without being spectacular. Same as Luke Burgess. I expect Mossop to do alright too. I look forward to seeing him in action.

I think the way the warriors play and how they utilise Tomkins is one of the main reasons why he's less effective in the NRL than in SL. We've seen very little of his running game because of a much more flat attacking line than at Wigan, and he doesn't get his hands on the ball anywhere near as much. He's basically being used as a 3rd halfback, if they want to get the most out of him then they need to set up their plays so he has more time on the ball out the back.