Sam Tomkins - the future : Tue Nov 17, 2015 7:26 am  

I'm starting to wonder what we can expect from Tomkins wen he returns from his injury after Easter. Will we see the same Sam Tomkins that set Super League alight when he first appeared on the scene?

You could argue he wasnt at his best for the last 6 months of 2013 before he left us but before this he was the most exciting player I'd seen in a Wigan shirt for a generation.

Call me negative, but I have a gut feeling that considering the fee we've paid and the wages he's on that we may only end up disappointed with this second spell at the club from him. I hope Im wrong of course.

Sam obviously hasn't been at his best these last 2 years in NRL, I worry this will have affected his game. I know defences will be more porous and leaky here in Super League but I fear he's lost some of his pace and his magical step.

The injury he's had has been known to damage players careers in all sports. Falcao had similar in football and he went from one of worlds best to bench warmer.

So, what do people think? Will we ever see the same Sam Tomkins who set Super League alight 2009-2013? Or will we see a changed Sam who has a much more reserved role in the team.

I hope we see the best from him again.

Re: Sam Tomkins - the future : Tue Nov 17, 2015 7:50 am  

My worry is that the entire team struggled for ideas the second half last season, and many fans will see Tomkins as the messiah who can fix all that. Fact is he can't, unless Wane works on the structures and gets players moving off the ball again it becomes very easy to mark players out of the team. Tomkins can be very effective, but he is only part of the puzzle and Wane needs to figure the rest of it out, if he doesn't it will no doubt be Tomkins who is past it in some eyes.

Re: Sam Tomkins - the future : Tue Nov 17, 2015 8:40 am  

We could do with a positive start to the season for sure so he isn't brought in to a heap of pressure.

He'll be a different style of player to the one which left IMO but he'll still be very effective. I don't think we'll see seasons of 30+ trys anymore but he'll work space for others and rack up the assists.

Re: Sam Tomkins - the future : Tue Nov 17, 2015 11:04 am  

NickyKiss wrote:

We could do with a positive start to the season for sure so he isn't brought in to a heap of pressure.

He'll be a different style of player to the one which left IMO but he'll still be very effective. I don't think we'll see seasons of 30+ trys anymore but he'll work space for others and rack up the assists.

Agree with this 100%.

Re: Sam Tomkins - the future : Tue Nov 17, 2015 12:45 pm  

I'd be happy to see him move back to 6. The thought of him andoes Williams is a mouthwatering prospect.

Re: Sam Tomkins - the future : Tue Nov 17, 2015 1:02 pm  

I think there will be a hell of a lot of pressure and scrutiny on him so he may well be seen as a failure if he doesn’t immediately set the world alight upon returning from injury. I can’t wait to see him back in a Wigan shirt even if it takes until 2017 before he really hits his stride.

Re: Sam Tomkins - the future : Thu Nov 19, 2015 7:55 pm  

Sam has a massive amount of pressure facing him upon his return to Super League,Probably more so due to his less than convincing cameo in the NRL

Re: Sam Tomkins - the future : Thu Nov 19, 2015 8:08 pm  

sergeant pepper wrote:

I'd be happy to see him move back to 6. The thought of him andoes Williams is a mouthwatering prospect.

Will be interesting to see how Tomkins (at FB) work together with Williams. Williams is a different type of HB to the likes of Smith, Green and the others that were at Wigan during Tomkins first spell. Whilst those guys did the "normal" stuff with Tomkins being the X factor player, Williams is also an X Factor type guy so seems like it could be a bit of a different dynamic this time around between Tomkins and the HB's.

Re: Sam Tomkins - the future : Thu Nov 19, 2015 10:03 pm  

ThePrinter wrote:

Will be interesting to see how Tomkins (at FB) work together with Williams. Williams is a different type of HB to the likes of Smith, Green and the others that were at Wigan during Tomkins first spell. Whilst those guys did the "normal" stuff with Tomkins being the X factor player, Williams is also an X Factor type guy so seems like it could be a bit of a different dynamic this time around between Tomkins and the HB's.

It'll work nicely IMO. When Tomkins gets over to that left side where Williams plays it'll put doubt in the oppositions minds as they wont know who'll stick and who'll twist. I would say Sam tends to play more to the right side of the field though and over that side he's going to get early ball from Smith which should give him time and space to work with that centre/wing.

Dom Manfredi could have a field day on that right wing (presuming it's he who deservedly gets that spot).

Re: Sam Tomkins - the future : Fri Nov 20, 2015 10:39 am  

SW now saying Tierney is direct competition for Tomkins. Not so sure how I feel about that. But then I write software & don't coach a top League team. S'pose we can only hope our silverback sees something a lot of others haven't, so far at least