I come to these forums quite often but do not post a lot. Recently on these boards and others there seems to be an overwhelming amount of anti-Tomkins threads / posts.

Of course the gesture he made should be condoned as inappropriate but he is still a young player learning the game and none of us can say we have not made an inappropriate gesture or comment at one point in our lives. To solely point and criticise one player is not constructive when there are larger issues our sport needs to deal with.

It seems to have gone beyond condoning the action into a witch hunt, when other similar incidents have gone by without the media intensive reaction / unpunished. It was a big occasion with a higher national profile but it cannot justify some of the comments made.

Some fans call him arrogant while obviously biased as a Wigan fan I do not see this, I enjoy the side steps and the cheeky looks. In our game we need all the characters we can get into the sport for the enjoyment and culture of the game. Sometimes arrogance can be misconstrued when you enjoy playing a game so much and you want to show your skill.

Some of the most talented people in the world have been classed as arrogant due to ignorance or jealousy of some fans. As a Wigan fan I disliked Sean Long for obvious reasons but have always known the correct boundaries. He was a great player for Saints and for the game.

Rugby League is the hardest game in the world and all players should be applauded for their willingness to put bodies on the line. If anything players should be encouraged to show skill, passion etc without the abuse levied at them. Players should be criticised but it should be constructive criticism rather than degrading the level of professional both the players and fans should try to achieve.

The final was a close game between two good sides, yes a few decisions which where 50/50 calls went one way or the other. We may not agree with them and should post constructive criticism of some decisions but some comments will only hurt the growth and development of our sport.

Now that the world is going to be run peacefully, we should all drive hybrid cars

To compare Rat Boy with Sean Long is like comparing chalk with cheese when it comes to the respect of the sport he's playing in, the players he plays against and the fans he plays in front of. True Sean Long was similar to Rat Boy in that he was a game breaker/changer/winner and displayed an air of arrogance, he also was subjected to similar levels of abuse from opposing fans but always seemed to rise above it and let his rugby playing skills answer the jibes that were thrown in his direction.

Long was undoubtedly a true professional who only let himeslf down with the betting scandal, he was gracious in his victories of which there were many and magnanimous in his defeats as shown in the GF when Smith scored what was a very contraversial try. Rat Boy is a dummy spitting kid whose talent will be overshadowed by his antics and the total lack of respect he has of the great game he plays in..............he really needs to grow up and cut out all the crap.

The RFL bottled it and despite his apparently tender years should have been made an example of and been banned for at least one game

well there is film footage of the incident

Are you on about the same Sean Long here that I know? Because if that's the case you couldn't be much further from the truth! Have you read Sean Long's book?