Tomkins

[OAMJSONA]

Lets take a step back here for a minute and re asses the situation :-

I do not recall any player coming back from Australia who ended up a better player for it , infact quite a few have come back carrying injuries of one description or another, long term and short term.Sam Tompkins came back injured and we been successfull without him, i doubt very much if he will ever be the same player again that left these shores, but i sure hope he gets back to full fitness because i for one would love him playing in the team , rather than not.

Onwards and upwards boys for a bright 2017 season

[fozzieskem]

I hope the desire is still there because its going to take bucketfulls of it to get himself anywhere near the player he once was.

Can he do it,only Sam can answer that he can of course take some pressure off himself by not trying to alienate fans.

[Exiled Wiganer]

There are a few things which are worth challenging here:
- it has been stated so often that it is now assumed to be true but we did not sign him when he was badly injured. That came later, and so all of the "why did we spend a
Fortune on this crock" stuff that gets bandied about is based on a false assumption;

- if he had shown his Warriors 2014 form he would have been by some distance the best full back in the competition. At the time, it made sense as a signing. That should not stop people saying that it has not worked out, but it is unreasonable to expect IL to see the future;

- I have more chance of playing for Warrington next year than Williams. So, the posts assuming he is going (as a double whammy alongside why did we sign someone we should have known was going to be a spectator for the next 2 seasons) are again based on a false premise. Everyone can have opinions but if they are based on wrong assumptions they will be wrong;

- looking forward I share everyone's concern that Sam will not have the drive and work ethic to make the most of his talent. In his favour, he is still young and is in an environment in which he has thrived before. Plus he has had to fight to make it this far having not been the first pick as a junior. His ability to read a game and find a pass are still fantastic skills and he has the potential to be the best 7 we have seen in a long time. But my god he needs to keep his head down and work like he never has before;

- as for the twitter exhanges, forgive me for not thinking that's a big deal. Bilko is a great fan and great guy but is essentially a journalist. His criticisms of the club and game were swingeing, widely publicised and deliberately emotive. They were also well made and accurate as it happens. That said, I could see a human being trying damned hard to fight against time and fitness issues taking the criticism to heart.
Fergie would have banned bilko for life and I have never read any criticism of That from Man U fans. Sportsmen can be immature and live in a bubble. It at least shows some spirit.

Sam is entering the hardest period of his career which is likely to define him as a person and a player - I am sure he does not need anyone to tell him how bad this looks. I wish him well - he has given us a lot and could still do so.

Or simply Don't bin him.

[Wandering Warrior]

Excellent post and I hope your positives are achieved because both the Club and the fans will benefit. As you quite rightly say it's the most difficult and defining time in his career. Fingers crossed he's up to it?

[fozzieskem]

I would have thought it prudent for him to have a fitness test on his return to the UK and as he was clearly badly injured surely it would of been prudent to put the transfer on hold before commiting to a huge contract when he had a career threatening injury?.

He was NZW player when the injury occured surely they should have covered him until he was fit enough,and the key word for me is fit to return to full training?

I dont know maybe they did,but in a sport where money is clearly paramount has sentiment clouded IL's judegemnt on this?

Who knows but if I where the owner i wouldnt have signed him with that injury,but thats just me.

[Exiled Wiganer]

Is that how these things work though? I am not sure it is - we would have done a deal with NZW and Sam mid season with effect from October say. I cannot recall a single deal which from which a club has been able to walk away because the player was injured after it was signed.

At least the incumbent Kiwi stand off is lookjng very fit and well. Looks a great signing. ????????

[markill]

Didn't Sam go to an England training session after returning to England before rejoining Wigan? My understanding was was when our medical team looked at him they thought that the nzw medical team hasn't fixed the problem up, so we wanted him to get it fixed up properly given the financial investment we'd made? Either way, his injury now is in no way linked to the one he got down under.

[TrueBlueWarrior]

I would have thought it prudent for him to have a fitness test on his return to the UK and as he was clearly badly injured surely it would of been prudent to put the transfer on hold before commiting to a huge contract when he had a career threatening injury?.

He was NZW player when the injury occured surely they should have covered him until he was fit enough,and the key word for me is fit to return to full training?

I dont know maybe they did,but in a sport where money is clearly paramount has sentiment clouded IL's judegemnt on this?

Who knows but if I where the owner i wouldnt have signed him with that injury,but thats just me.

I don't understand, the injury he had in NZ is not an issue anymore, his current injury is not related at all, so what is the point here?

[Wigan_forever1985]

I feel like the club wanted tomkins back at all costs if not just for the PR. Trouble is his stock didnt rise the way we would of hoped while he was away in fact it fell, one ok season followed by an injured wrecked one wasnt much in the way of a glowing testament.

I wonder if Sam regrets the move? i mean you could never 100% what would of happened had he stayed originally but before he left his stock was massive and he was beginning to transcend the sport something very few, if any rugby league players have managed to do. I have said before i feel that this tied in with the slope in superleague (though im not blaming Sam for this)

Now he's back he's a relative nobody again - you dont see Man united players in the changing rooms, or tv ad campaigns with other sportsmen etc he's just a player at wigan, and not even the star performer there

I wonder whether some of this "acting out" from tomkins is mere frustration at his current situation

[Exiled Wiganer]

Taking your points in turn...
- it made sense to get him back, at the time, and indeed it was treated as a great thing very widely;
- his first season was fine and he played well for England. Neither great nor a tragedy;
- he subsequently became injured which is when his stock really began to fall. Nothing he or we could do about it;
- does Sam regret his move? In some ways he should, as it panned out;
- I don't agree there has been a fall off in quality in SL and the competition seems to me to have greater strength in depth than it has ever had. Leeds and Huddersfield in the bottom 4 and a good HKR team relegated show that I think. ThE spread of talent may be at the expense of teams at the top having all the best talent, so if that's the measure of success, I would agree;
- he must be frustrated and very worried indeed. He can go from legend to footnote if he is not careful. Let's hope for all our sakes he finds a way.