When I take the words "sam" and "Tomkins" out of it what I'm left with is a scenario where a player should be told by the RFL that his actions were stupid and anything like that in future will net him a ban.

Sadly the conspiracy theorists with their feeble intellects will herald this as proof positive that he is a 'golden boy'. Quite why he gets peoples juices going so extremely is beyond me.

What gives you the right to act like one?

Stupid thing to do. Even though I'm half-tempted to say he deserves a medal for the delightful collective apoplexy he has caused amongst a subset (sub- being the operative prefix) of the Leeds fans, and it was really little worse really than when Karl Pratt ran in front of the Leeds fans that time cupping his ear - or when Macca belted that penalty as hard as he could into the Threepenny Stand - no, even if maybe understandable it was just plain stupid. Deserves some punishment.

But as for the name on the back of the shirt...violent disinterest on my part. Stupidity is stupidity, regardless of who is the perpetrator.

I am not acting like one. I am telling the truth.

Given Stevo's fondness of jumping on the bandwagon I wonder if he'll be lambasting the rat this Wednesday night? I won't hold my breath. After his disgust at the booing of Tomkins at the Exiles match Stevo had better have earplugs in for the Four Nations because he's going to get some right stick.

I remember Lord Lowes giving the self-same salute to the Leeds fans when he was sin binned in the Bulls-Rhinos game at Odsal in 2003. I don't think Jimmy was punished further for that, but it was his farewell game.

Tomkins should probably be punished, but I suspect he'll get off. It'll tunr out he was confirming he was still available for archery practice after the match.

Tomkins is an idiot, and from what we see of him, doesn't seem like the nicest piece of work, if a rugby genius. Having said that, he's a young lad and not too bright, and to have had thousands of morons booing your every play while theoretically supporting your team must have messed with his head. It would certainly pi$s me off. Doing what he did was childish and he couldn't have picked a worse occasion, but the supreme irony is that the people calling for his head are in large numbers the morons who abuse him with vile language yet see no contradiction in themselves behaving like foul-mouthed gutter dwellers yet claim to be mortally offended by a two finger salute.

sam will not be punished by the RFL or by the sky pundits for his idiotic actions as
Phil Clarke has apparently already taken sam in hand and given him the full rounds of the bedroom

I suspect that the RFL will "slap his wrists" . . . . even more so in light of this -> rlhttp://www.code13rugbyleague.com/2011/08/29/wigan-take-action-against-tomkins-for-gesture/rl

What it does show is that Tomkins was far more affected by the booing & the stick he got from Bulls fans after being knocked out by Raynor than he pretended. It wouldn't surprise me if he thought feck this I'm off to yawnion & megabucks where booing is just not the done thing old chap. Which would be devastating for RL.

Well the RFL are looking at the incident rlLinkrl

I just wonder if Wigan's move is trying to pre-empt any further punishment from the RFL

Obviously, I approve of their wording. Any club with any sense would try to get in first.

I am quietly impressed by the way Wigan have handled this situation. I can't think they could do much more.

All very true but I think the occasion, the where and when, is the reason the RFL will feel they have to do something. I'd only expect a fine and maybe a warning letter, but at what is, arguably, the biggest game of the season, with a large number of TV watchers the game is hoping to impress, some dolt slings a 'V' at the camera.
We're back to the damage done to the image of the game, not to forget the old argument about how many parents will be put off letting their kids go for RL training when they see 'superstars' of the game acting like that. Bright or not, he shouldn't have done it.

He's got off with a suspended fine I read elsewhere (find the link yourselves, IT is for geeks). Personally, if it had been, say, Charnley I would have said a fine & a warning was sufficient, so I think he has got off fractionally lightly, but I won't be frothing at the mouth about it. Cue disgrace/joke/bent etc etc.