With and without the balls he's done everything he could do. He is beginning to look bored out there on the wing tho!

Great to see him get a try at the end. All that fuss over nothing!

The basic skills on show really are terrible. I would have got slaughtered by my coach at primary school for passing like they do.

They appear to be as at tackling as they are at passing!

So now that Sam has played his game of Union, what next.
It didnt help the Barbarians cause, it hasnt helped rugby league but Sam has had his ego massaged.
What happens next ?
Everyone back to their day jobs and pretend this never happened, or the union boys pick the next "trialist".

You missed out the important bit. Sam's quite a bit richer - and it didn't cost us anything.

I think you guys are missing the important bit.
We're all chffed to bits that Sams pockets are bulgeing and that Wigan have received some compo BUT, what about the game of rugby league.
How has this possibly helped OUR game (not yours or Sams).
The guy is an undoubted talent and rugby league is all the better for him being involved but this exercise will not help rugby league in the slightest.
It may cause some kind of exodus.
I find it staggering that the "hasn't he done well" and "he's got lots more money" brigade can not see the reasons why a League player would be asked to take part.

Its done wonders for League, the game was feckin crap. St Pats and any other amateur club could have played and shown better Rugby skills.

Can you explain how a RL player playing in front of 50 odd thousand people and however many watched on sky is a bad thing for the sport?

Its shown, that you can play and score in an international after not even playing the game.

im going to take a punt on this based on your username so..........

how do Cas/Wakey help the game of rugby league? truth is, they dont

if you dont follow either then my apologies

If he/she is a Wakefield fan, give him/her a break, they probably genuinely believe they deserve a franchise and Belle Vue being on Sky Sports 1 on a friday night is good for the game.

then he/she deserves to be mocked

You're the team that had 3 brothers all playing for your club. Already its down to 2 and given Sams "star performance" you will soon be down to one.

By the way I support rugby league, not union.
Read your history books and find out why we play the game at all and then decide why league players should play the other code.
Your own fans seem split on why this wasnt such a graet idea and from a non partisan standpoint it just shows how in some quarters you still like to pander to the "mighty" union boys.

We got money from it, we got publicity from it, and he didnt get injured. Everyone's a winner.

You just crawl back into your hole somewere in Yorkshire and enjoy your superstar signing next season, the one, the only..............MR TIMOTHY SMITH!!!


(thats if you are a wakey fan, I presume you are)

and we will continue to produce good young players and therefore contribute to the relatively low talent pool of RL players unlike some other bottom feeding yorkshire clubs

Top response, you produce 'em, union take 'em, you may be the best union feeder club in the country

so its better to not produce any at all? clutching at straws there im afraid

No, I think it more a case of playing with fire on your clubs part and you'll be left with burnt fingers.
Cant understand why you want anything to do with the "kick and clap" brigade.
Union is just like league apart from, passing, scoring tries, deft ball skills etc oh, they only play for about 40mins in every 80, so Sam might have time for both.

its called ambition...

ambition to better our own club by whatever means are necessary rather than sitting back and letting other clubs do it for us. has Sam playing for the baa baa's suddently stopped RL from existing? no, it hasnt...

furthermore, the REAL threat to RL is the clubs that are happy to stay where they are rather than try and improve themselves, and therefore the competition as a whole in order to make it more attractive to players and help to retain the players clubs like Wigan and Saints develop

the threat to RL isnt RU or the NRL, its the lower clubs in SL

Please explain (in simple terms) how Sam playing for the Barbarians shows ambition in anything, other than playing RU.

Well it got us better publicity than your dire financial state recently, or the new ground you are supposed to be getting.....

Dont think that you answered the question there

(in simple terms)

read the last 60 odd pages of posts from other people (inc myself)