Sam Tomkins is a rare thing, a genuine world class british back.

I have no doubt he will wow the aussies down under.

Its just a pity for me Eastmond suffered with knocks in the second half of the season, as he is potentially our second world class back.
Unfortunately his development is currently on hold due to injury.

You can't say good things about Eastmond on here.
You will get all the critics of him coming on here slagging you and Eastmond off.

I thought Eastmond was ahead of Tomkins in terms of ability last season it's a shame hes had a hard time with injuries as he is an outstanding player.

The kid is all class but if you say that on here 9 times out of 10 you will get criticised and calling him a broken biscuit and so on.

bit harsh that as they are very much chalk and cheese

eastmond , when fit and in the zone is a very dangerous act

Sadly I don't think we'll see Eastmond in RL long enough to make the comparison between him and Tomkins.

I'd love to be proven wrong though.

Sam Tomkins ripped us to shreds. I don't like the guy as he epitomises everything about Wigan, but he is absolutely top class. Everytime he got the ball I cringed expecting him to break our line. He could have a huge Four Nations tournament especially if he plays at full back.

He was playing Stand Off at the DW and your absoutley correct he is far more dangerous at Full Back.

Until Eastmond toughens up, he won't last a full match with the rugger buggers running into him.

I agree, i also thought kyle was a little ahead of tomkins last year and also for the early part of the season as kyle was on fire but tomkins then raised the bar.

Sam tomkins was the best english player in super league last year by a mile.

I don't personally like Sam Tomkins. However, there is no way I could possibly knock his talent as a Rugby League player. I don't think he's there yet as he has things to learn, but there is no doubt that he will be a world class player in years to come.

Why? Have you ever met him?

About sums it up!!



Only problem is we get talent like Eastmond and Tomkins and then look to put them down at every chance! Tomkins is awesome and when he is on form like last night he can be virtually unplayable!
As Cunningham was in his prime!

I was referring to his on-field personna. Not his social attributes.

He strikes me as a typical (or stereotypical?) halfback. He's sly, sneaky, a pain in the backside and tough as old boots. Should be good for many years to come.

While there is no doubting Eastmonds ability, he simply doesn't have a 1/4 of the heart Tomkins has. Tomkins takes shlt loads and gets up everytime. When things go Saints way Eastmond is a cracking player. I just doubt he has the heart to play at the top and thus will never be fit to lace Tomkins boots.

FWIW Wellens was class yesterday for you. Had that break he made been 2-3 years ago I reckon he probably would have finished it and why Potter has let Matty Smith go is beyond me

I can see why they've let Matty Smith go, I think one of the reasons why he made such an impact coming back was because they'd had Wilkin in the halves for a while.

I'd rather have Lomax or Eastmond every day of the week.


Wellens is always class imo, if he had pace he would have been truly world class.

Fair enough - you see your team every week.

Surely that can't be levied at Potter?

For an outgoing coach, how much (if any) control would he have over the 2011 squad?

Wigan fan mate.....

Huh?

Matty made such an impact because his kicking was fabulous against Warrington and our whole team that night played as one, something we haven't seen much of this season (and we haven't seen anything of a kicking game for years).

Matty Smith has only played at Superleague level consistently for one season: while at Salford. Prior to Saturday he had never played in a Saints-Wigan derby before and he had never played in a final before. That lad had a huge amount of pressure on him and he was never, ever going to meet the expectations created by his great game against Warrington. But even though his kicking in the first half was poor, he still worked hard in both defence and attack, he made the initial break for Dixon's try and he passed to Wilkin who, if he'd not dropped the ball, would have scored another try. He also kicked one great kick in the second half. But my own thoughts are that the occasion was just too much for him to handle with so little experience and such a genuine desire to work hard for his club, all the dumb changes made to the lineup by Potter complicating matters for him and everyone else.

However, it wasn't his fault we were beaten and I certainly wish he had been kept on by Saints.

I would imagine the coach is consulted, wouldn't you? Presumably as the 'expert opinion' on who was worth keeping at the club and who wasn't.

He's a player I've never really rated but I would say he would have been a better "keep" than Scott Moore.

Probably, but if McManus was sitting down planning for next season, surely your new coach would have had a say. After all, it'll be him who'll have to work with the players day in, day out.

Sorry - re read your post. The "They've" part should have been a give away really