He was fantastic tonight.

What a player!

As I said



And Ive been saying it for 12 months now.
As good as anything I've seen at Wigan!

The problem is, of course, that RU will already be preparing its big play for him in three years' time. Yet again - as with Joel, they'll be talking the highest stakes imaginable - "England cannot win the World Cup without Sam Tomkins", and other such calculated defeatist rubbish.

Wouldn't it be great if, in anticipation of this, RL was preparing its own strategy to try and keep him? Perhaps setting up a new 'Club England' arrangement whereby the game's crack players can have their players topped up from a central fund to match anything the RU can muster.

Cue all The "Gaz Hock shouldnt get anything" jokes!

paul cullen said something very similar last night on commentary

If anyone fancies a giggle, go onto the TotalRL board, where you can sit back and enjoy the efforts of a few oddballs who, over a period of several posts, gradually manage to convince themselves (if no-one else) that Sam is massively overhyped, has a terrible attitude and is basically nowhere near as good as we think he is.

One of them even ends his rant with "no wonder the Aussies laugh at us".

I'm guessing the irony of that passed him by.

As much of a great player he is and can go on to be,he really needs to test him self in the NRL.Its all very well only playing against 4 good teams a season plus the rest of SL.But to be truely classed as great he needs to try his luck in the NRL.

This is just wishful thinking from super league opposition fans though.

You don't think that's what they're ding do you? The sly little devils!



BTW, surely if all our best players go over there to "Test" themselves" then any future potential greats will have to keep going there as well?
This may be a novel thought but why don't we try and keep our best players over playing rugby league and try and get the standard of our comp better?
A bit radical I know and one not likely to get me a job at the RFL but it may be worth a shot?

PS

I don't see many calls on other fans boards (There's one board in particular) for any of their players to "Test" themselves so I'm guessing they don't think any of their players are potential "Greats" or stand any chance of improving as players by "Testing" themselves in the NRL so aren't clamouring for it to happen?

When they were young players there was talk that Mcguire & Burrow should try the NRL. Also, a few years before his "Blackpool Beach" comment there was similar talk about Leon Pryce.

Of course it is. The reality is that we need as many of our top players to stay over here as possible. The NRL domestic comp doesn't need them, but ours does.

They can try and prove themselves against the best in the world when we play the Aussies at Test level.

My only worry is , it is a long season, I would like him to have a rest for the Exiles weekend but that is not going to happen.

Waney is apparrently planning on giving Tomkins a rest around that time when we play some of the "weaker" teams and giving Matty Russell a go at full back