I'd obviously love to sign him at Leeds. He's a superb player, and he's looked pretty good in the NRL when I've watched him (which admittedly has only been bits and pieces of games on t'internet). I'm not sure why people are upset by the idea that him not being an absolute standout in the NRL but being a star in SL is some sort of new evidence that the NRL is a stronger comp. Surely anyone who has watched any international RL for the last, err, 3 or 4 decades could already have told you that.

All that said, it's hard to see him going anywhere but Wigan really. They have first refusal as I understand it (although I'm not sure how that works salary wise?) and I can't imagine they'd need to do much more than let Bowen leave and not take Scott Taylor back from his loan to make it work.

I hope that it doesn't precipitate the marquee player rule, which feels like a retrograde step back to the days of shiny, highly paid mercenaries. Longer term plans to make a higher cap more widely sustainable are IMO the only way to make the steps forward we need. Unless the RFL or SL owned the contracts of the marquee players and allocated them by some sort of NFL-style draft, only a few teams will be able to afford them anyway, and we'll be back to the bad old days again.

I personally never fancied living overseas (thought about it a few years ago, settled for emigrating to the Midlands). He's had a go living and working in another country for a couple of years, decided it isn't for him and he's coming back. Not sure I could fault him for that.

Would you want Tomkins at Leeds if possible ?

Not if it reduces the amount of cash available to spend on the pack which I believe that it would.
Unless Hardaker does not sign a new contract.
I think it's all irrelevant since he'll go to a Lancashire or Cheshire based club.
I include Manchester/Salford in Lancashire.

Given that he'd command a hefty wage I'd personally rather persist with Hardaker - plus I genuinely think he's a better all round fullback. I admire many of Tomkins attributes (physical & mental toughness, tenacity, will to win etc) but these are neutralised by the sinister side of his game. We also have to consider Ashton Golding will hopefully continue his development.

If he was going to play in the halves, yes. The holy trinity is reaching the end of its lifespan. At fullback, in a salary capped sport? No. FB is an area of strength and a marquee name there isn't where we need to invest.

Will never happen though.

Wigan could afford Sam Tomkins without the "Marquee Signing" element last time, maybe we could this time. As far as the SC goes, Bowen and Burgess will leave and Bowen is reputedly on a fair wedge. There's also a few out on loan who may not return which if Sam wasn't coming back would have come in from loan. Hughes at Hudds amd Burke at HKR are two.
There's plenty cap space given the end of season movements.

Wigan may well use the Marquee to bring in another top class player, who knows?

He will go To Wigan and I can understand all the speculation too.Im just pleased he's not going to Union

99.9% sure he will do, but i would love it if he went to say Salford or Wire.The Wigan board would go into meltdown they are already on edge having to wait for the confirmation!

having lived in NZ for +10 years I can understand why he would get homesick. NZ is different and you can get culture shock. The distance is huge and trips home have to be planned and are time consuming. So after 2 years and a number of injuries maybe it has just got too hard? I for one cannot comment on his wife/immediate family and how they settled etc. What I can comment on is that the pies in NZ are awesome. Even McD's offers a decent pie! - but no beer though...

there's only one club he's going to and it wont be a surprise to anyone either when it is revealed
i was told that his deal was signed at the same time that the warriors unveiled rts for next season

I'm intrigued now

Wigan bound, without a doubt. He's a Pie Eater through and through, his brothers are there and most of his family.

Bowen is OOC at the end of the season and with Burgess off too, there's plenty of space under the cap for him.

Sam is an exceptional player and I fear that his time in the NRL will have polished up his already well buffed skill set. He'll be even more of a handful once he's back in SL than he was before he left.

Definitely Wigan bound imo

I'll wait and see. If there are no improvements elsewhere, the side he'll return to is markedly inferior to the one he left meaning he'll be easier for defences to target.

He has signed for Wigan. Delete thread. Nothinf to see!