incident happened in Minute 8. Interview was post match... there's alot goes through a players head in excess of 72 minutes, rather than commenting on it on TV, better to wait to discuss with club management!

Remember, the Wigan Club is very much "No Comment" on press questions.

That's a very charitable way of describing it. Reality is more like:-

- Wigan scored
- He wanted to rub Leeds' fans noses in the Ben Cross (which I don't blame him for)
- He gave them the V, thinking that in the game with the largest TV audience of the season, he wouldn't get caught (which was stupid)
- He did get caught (which was obvious)
- He lied

He may well have panicked but he still lied. The fact that it was after the match is irrelevant. I would have given him a pass if he had come out himself and admitted it later but he didn't.

I don't think we should be banning players for this, either for the gesture or the lie that followed it. However, even the most myopic Wigan fan must now understand why such a talented player is so universally hated.

Still jealousey apparently

Wigan have come out of this very poorly, indeed.

The world and his dog started jumping all over this issue from the moment it happened.
It's been "hyped-up" out of all proportions ever since.
It's been mentioned on national sports reports, and covered in the printed media.
All this could have been nipped in the bud, a couple of hours after the game, or first thing Sunday morning, when Wigan finished celebrating.

We all know Tomkins was (morally) in the wrong (as I said previously, he's a RL player, not exactly known for his brain). Wigan should have said to him "listen sunshine, you've made a bit of a pratt of yourself, go and apologise, and everyone will quickly forget about it". Instead, they let it fester for 48 hours, which has cooked up more paranoia throughout the game.
No need for Wigan to go inside their "shell", and have a debate about it, with a "shall we, shall we not" attitude, with regards a statement. We all know what happened.

Poor effort all round.

This should have been dealt with a lot sooner.

All this has done has probably speeded up his exit to union by 12 months.

I agree with all you have written,i think if it hadn't blown so much out of proportion Wigan may well of just had a quiet word but their hand was forced on this one personally a ban would be a bit ott

To me, Wigan are merely trying to head the RFL off at the pass so to speak.

Do we think that the Tomkins brothers are now officially the "thicky twins".
We know most footballers have brains in their feet and trouser area, and that RL players aren't exactly renowned for their intelligence, but it is about time that the RL and referees clamped down on speaking to refs and touch judges. Otherwise we will end up like football with Wigan, the Man U of the RL, abusing officials about every decision that goes against them. And Sam's "apology" is a typical Man U ploy to draw the fire of the RL away from ratboy.
Let's give him stick on Sunday.

Which will probably be abuse, one and two fingured salutes, and that sign which indicates he indulges in the pleasures of the palm.....in which case, we'll be no better than he is.

Yes, OK, let's give him stick, but we shouldn't be taking the moral highground, because we'll be doing the same as what he's done. Double standards, methinks.

A fine from Wigan is enough(probably £50). We probably wouldn't be that outraged if it was a different player.

There may be a slight difference in the two. One could argue that the pro sportsman occupation comes with the addition of stick from the opposition once a week. They get paid a more than complimentary wage and don't have to do as much as say a soldier or a doctor. Their are players who are part-timers who put in as muc, if not more, effort as sam and we must remember his occupation is purely in the field of recreation. Additionally, a supporter pays sam's wages and there is a slight expectation that supporters are there to get on players' backs.

However with ratboy and his slippery stupidity, I don't even care. Give him as much stick as poss!

Leave Vomkins alone we don't need to give him stick to fire up his game, we could just jeer and whistle every time Wigan have the ball and turn the HJ in to the zoo