A couple of decent touches but by no means the superstar he is being hyped up to be.

Wigan ... have him back?

Now that he is a small fish in a big pond he won't be as effective.

bit early after one game to come to any conclusions.at least give the guy a dozen games before making judgment.by all accounts he was excellent pre season games.

I watched the game.the warriors were poor,especially defensively out wide and tomkins was well policed.

he set two tries up and your still moaning? but he does need to concentrate more on his running game as he was devastating now he looking to be more of a daren Lockyer.

be more worried about the softness of the forwards and chad townsend looked lost some reason you played with split halves? when against the broncos the 1,6 and 7 was linking so well. defensive line was none existent but the warriors are always slow starts.

It was an OK start. He set up 2 tries but was at fault for one (dropping a bomb) and on another he was stepped and slipped over as last man.

His running game was completly shut down by the eels and he had few kick return opportunities.

When you think the eels were wooden spooners last year, it shows the sheer strength of the powerhouse nrl.

they did the same last year smashed the warriors and went to pot for the rest of the season.

Only seen very brief highlights but he looked too weak in defence. I cannot see him playing out the season at full back because of that. I think they'll have to move him to stand off or centre.

Only seen very brief highlights but he looked too weak in defence. I cannot see him playing out the season at full back because of that. I think they'll have to move him to stand off or centre.

Was thinking the same, honestly I don't think he will see out his contract, and will return to Wigan. He is a marked man over there and I don't think the Aussies will appreciate a Brit being the "best in the world"

Think also him being in a Lower order team will affect him as he will also have to do a lot more work in defence and I don't think that is his strong suit if I'm frank.

Best in world!? Not in the top 30.

The warriors overall looked very poor. If your gonna base your opinion on one match, then its gonna be a long season for the warriors.

Some serious kneejerk reactions based on one game of NRL.

Have some conveniently forgot that Morley, Ellis and Burgess in particular were pretty ordinary in their first season of NRL?

I do think that Tomkins may have to bulk up a bit for the NRL though.

If they want rid of Tomkins they can't be very happy with Johnson or their pack.

It's Elliott they need rid of.

He's a hopeless coach.

Name 25 of them.

All the attention is on him and rightfully so but if people point the finger at him yesterday about guys like Townsend, Johnson or any of the Warriors pack they're picking faults for the sake of it. He was the best of a bad bunch.

One thing I will say though is he needs moving to stand off. He's changed his game now to become a real creative force and his weaknesses at fullback will be exposed over there more then they have been in superleague.

Well at least you gave him a fair chance, eh?


I'm sure Wigan fans aren't too impressed with Matty Bowen so far either.

My thought too. Townsend constantly picked the wrong option in attacking positions; Johnson was completely anonymous throughout; the fringe defence was embarrassing on both edges; the pack was dominated; plenty of soft errors in their own half (notably Vatuvei and Lousi).

What exactly is a fullback supposed to do when the entire team in front of him is being dominated like that? Tomkins' passing game was pretty much perfect in selection and execution, his running game was poor and he wasn't elusive/balanced enough to mitigate his light weight and the fact that he's a known target. He made a pretty bad error under a bomb under plenty of pressure from Hayne (who arguably knocked Tomkins' hands out of the way just before he tried to catch) but beyond that he was one of the better players in a well-beaten team. Round 1 performances like that from the Warriors are hardly unusual though.

Not disagreeing with your main point, but Ellis was not 'ordinary' in his first season at Wests, he was exceptional and took their player of the year award.

Sam had a pretty up and down 1st game, a few mistakes he probably wouldn't normally make, and a few great passes to counter.

Its a new league, a new team and two new countries for him, it will take time, but he is TOP quality, he will get on well in the NRL and once the Warriors sort out their pretty flat attack they will get him the space he needs.

The Warriors edge defence was abysmal, particularly on the right in the first half.

Their forwards were totally out enthused too and the ball security was pants. The quality just wasn't there. Seems like the best kiwi forwards play for other NRL teams.

I thought they'd be much better but they looked poor. Parra's forwards were much more impressive.

Hardly the sort of platform for any fullback to excel, particularly one on debut in a much tougher league.

Both teams looked average but Warriors especially so.

Decent in attack, suspect in defence. Which just about sums up every England performance against Australia!

In no paricular order: Inglis, Thurston, Smith, Cronk, Lyon, Tate, Morris, Hayne, Slater, SBW, Fifita, Gallen, Graham, Burgess, Thaiday, Barba, Mannering, Waerea-Hargreaves, Pritchard, Bird, Boyd, Watmough, Cherry-Evans, Carney, Lewis.

Whilst I agree with the sentiment (Tomkins is currently not in the top tier) no way can I agree with Boyd/Thaiday arguably some others being on that list, and Barba has a lot to do still to be considered a top player. Swap them out for Parker/B.Stewart/the other Morris (for his position, not all-round play) and I wouldn't argue.

Only 4 people on that list are as good or better than Tomkins. Possibly 5.