Firstly.. Hi!



Secondly, this isn't a troll, as hopefully you'll be able to tell!!



Great game on Friday. Would've snapped your hand off for a draw prior to kick off so, obvious disappointment aside, I'm forcing myself to be happy we got a point.





I just wanted to know what Wigan fans thought of Sam Tomkins.



There's no question at all the kid is supremely talented. Exceptional player of the game, and to say he's relatively young, I've no doubt he'll be the best in the game (already one of the best in UK), and will go down as an all time great.



But surely you've got to question his attitude? He is constantly involved in absolutely everything that he shouldn't be, constantly chirping at the ref, he's running in to get involved in fights, the arm trap thing (which he didn't do on Friday but the point stands).



The reason I think it annoys me so much (can't speak for others) is because he's so talented. If he was a just a gobby little idiot then it probably wouldn't bother me, but it's frustrating as a fan of the game in general (and not just Leeds) that somebody who has the potential to be the greatest ever, has this ugly side to his game.



I'm sure this will get loads of "He's ace, pi[iss[/i off back to your own board!" type responses, but I thought one or two Wiganers might have a few thoughts on it too? There must be one or two frustrated Wigan fans that watch and cringe when he's constantly involved? Should the coach (or those around him) be trying to stamp it out, or is it this attitude that makes him play as well as he does?

When opposotions fans get on his back (e.g. chanting that he's a w@nker!) IMO it brings out his competitive nature and he ups his game. So from that point of view it is an important element to his game.



For example, if he had that last minute kick at the DW with the crowd behind him I honestly think he would have missed it.

Was a pretty easy kick to be fair!! TONS of pressure, no doubt! But in terms of "difficulty of kick, excluding the pressure" it was pretty bread & butter stuff.



It's just the niggling that annoys me. Constantly involved. With the Clarkson tackle, he was nowhere near, and yet still got involved. Same against Wire last week too, just seems to be constantly looking for trouble.



I see what you're saying though, he uses the "abuse" (which for what it's worth I think is mostly pantomime villain stuff!) to channel his focus to "prove the abusers wrong". Fair point!

Not an easy kick when your not the first choice kicker though. As for the niggles all the great "halfbacks" i've either heard of or been lucky enough to see play have always had this trait. Shaun Edwards, Andy Gregory, Tommy Martyn, Alex Murphy, Bobby Goulding, Ellery Hanley, Paul Bishop, Lee Briers to name but a few. All the aforementioned used to wind the opposition fans and players alike with their antics, its all part and parcel of being a halfback you need a certain amount of arrogance and cockiness i guess, even though it does make you a target. I used to be a halfback so know what its like

You can't deny Tomkins is a class act though.

Not so easy for a 4th/5th choice goal kicker IMO!



I'm sure he'd be the first to admit he's not the greatest goal kicker and he's missed a few easier and similar to the one on friday!

I actually thought he got on with his rugby on Friday against you lot, it seemed in my opinion Mcshane, Senior and Cross were trying to get under his skin big time, using some dirty tatics. Sam's one of them players that's cocky so opposing fans love to hate him. There's been players like him a plenty in the past, usually half backs or hookers. It's just RL if you take away his attitude you take away the player he is naturally. Sometimes I don't like the things he does but I obviously love the skill factor and his attitude is sometimes how us Wigan fans feel anyway, he just displays it on the pitch. Hence all the stick you lot gave him last year at are place in the play-offs then he tore you apart and scored a sensational try, throwing the ball in the crowd, basically saying how's that?



Or some of your fans gobbing off at headingley at the play-off semi final, absuing the players as they walked back, "booo you cheats" "come on saints" "you wont win it 3 times". That day we hammered you 24-6 and didn't deserve the bitter abuse, Sam replied "we're in the final love" fair play to him, I would of said the same. You can see the video on a popular video sharing site

What??????????? Leeds are the worst side in the league for "constantly chirping at the ref".

Im glad he is a dirty little bas**rd. People dont complain when other players try and take his head off which is almost every game so stuff it. All this crap about him deserving it is ludicrous. Maybe if the authorities had protected him when players tried decapitating him earlier in his career things would be different.



Im glad Joel Tomkins is a shi*house too, he has turned a few games for us by kicking it off imo. I dont want any players in our team who take a step back. None of our players have done any worse than what other teams players have done before but because we are Wigan its a scandal!

What do I think of Sam Tomkins? That's an easy question.



He's the best player in SL.

Where do you think all those Leeds players came from? Did they just sprout from the ground? When half a dozen Leeds players start surrounding the tacklers it's inevitable that Wigan players would gather round too. And as for 'getting involved', nothing actually happened when the players came together except for Ablett giving Lima a little slap.



I can't think of much to complain about with Tomkins attitude during that game. He concentrated on the game even when some Leeds players thought it was best to wind him up. When Goulding won a penalty, McShane decided he wanted to get stuck in to Sam, but no one was taking that bait. Then there's Ben Cross who comes wading in for no reason in the hope of causing a bit of trouble.



Tomkins comes off quite well in comparison to some of the Leeds players.

He's a niggly little f*cker like all great halfbacks, right? I absolutely love how he gets hated by every other team. Sam uses his brain very well in Rugby League, knows how to get every little advantage, milking penalties. So what? You only complain when it goes against you. I don't see it as an 'ugly' part of the game



Does he chirp at the ref? Doesn't really seem like he chirps that much imo, there are far far worse that do that in this league.



Sam Tomkins, what a w@nker, what a w@nker

What really irritates the opposition fans about Sam is that they expect their big tough forwards to flatten him, only to find they aren't actually tough enough.