init

Sam is class.

Huge fan. Hangs back and he knows exactly when to pick up the ball on the fringes and that blind pace gets him away from all it seems. We all know what he's going to do. But stopping him seems the impossible task. Different class.

I've been watching Tomkins quite closely this past couple of years to see what makes him so different and it seems to be a combination of 3 things.

1. His ability to know which gaps he can fit through and which he can't
2. This is his greatest attribute - his ability to make you think that he is 4" nearer to a defending player than he really is. This is what makes him so slippery. He tends to react to a defender a split second faster than any other player in SL.
3. His ability to change direction at top speed. This is in noway a unique attribute but when combined with the previous 2 attributes makes him the player he is.

He is also adding a new dimension to his game as a lure to pull in the extra defender, this is why Josh Charnley has the points tally he does.

There's still an element of his game that I'd wish he'd cut out though - little rat boy.

With all this talk of getting found out on the international stage, was I alone in thinking he was brilliant in the first game against the Aussies at Wembley last year? He may well struggle to play behind a beaten pack and lesser halves, but so would anyone. Had he been fed the ball by Lockyer and Thurston on the back of some quick play the balls and good go forward, who knows what he might have accomplished.

One thing we will need to do to make him effective against Australia is find a threat from somewhere else. In the 4N final last year the Aussies had clearly concluded that they could safely focus their efforts on shutting Tomkins down, secure in the knowledge that there was no spark coming from anywhere else. You don't have that luxury against Billy Slater. Although it will be interesting to see how Lockyer's boots are filled in the next few years, but Thurston will be around a while yet.

4. Nearly always takes the right option when in space.
5. Has a drill of a fend which will get rid of any defender who is not 100% in the right place to tackle him. (See Grand Final try 2010)

Tomkins is a world class rugby league player with pace and vision.

Does he milk certain situations of course he does if it where a Leeds player we would applaud this aspect.

We should also give credit to the timing and skill of those players around him that create opportunities for him.

The set move of two dummy runner forwards outside the first receiver, who force defenders to oppose them thus creating the space for Tomkins to run into, also deserve a mention.

It has to be timed to perfection otherwise it could be called has shepherding or obstruction.

In stark contrast our attacking line is often very niave and relies on individual breaks. Rarely do we create space or confusion.