priceless

That post has scarred me for life...

Explain how you manage that?

Hope he doesn't get banned.

Let him play and get smashed

if he does get banned then its only a excuse Wigan will use if we beat them. Rather us play a full strenght team, so if we win their can be no excuse from them.

Sod that, ban the little scrote. Wigan fans say it's a squad game about their victory in the QF. So let them play without Goldenchild and dick them by 50.

Also didn't he grab Bentham's arm in the game? I remember kicking off a stink about it. I'm sure that carries a minimum ban of about 3 games!

Nothing will happen to Sam Tomkins, do you really think the RFL have the backbone to suspend him for what could be a possible league leaders decider ?

Their is more chance of Brian "I'm not the taliban" Potter replacing Jon Clarke next season, although some on here may say that would be a big improvement

AS I have posted on the Saints site.


We got back last night and watched the recording of the final.

My thoughts.
Sam, bang out of order but probably understandable after the "history" of abuse from the Leeds fans. That's not an excuse but a reason. However he should have risen above it, I just wish he had scored that first try early on to see the reaction of the Sam and the Leeds fans.

Punishment.
Let the RFL sort it out not the kangaroo court of RL forums.
If similar incidents are used as a yardstick( Lee Smith v Wigan, Lee Bries v Leeds, Kyle Eastmond to his own fans, Matt King to his own fans, Terry O'Connor, I think was to Saints fans) then I suspect he will get a warning and maybe a fine. The fine if imposed should go to the R.S.P.C.A. for all the dogs and cats kicked around St.Helens and Warrington on Saturday afternoon.

The game,
Lima's second try was definitely forward. However there seems to be very little mention of the Ableett non play the ball in the build up to Leeds second try (it should have been a Wigan penalty) and I think the final pass was marginally forward.

Tommy try, correct decision in b.o.d. to the attacking side.
The scrum, Burrow plays the ball onto Charnley who did not play at the ball (even though he did touch it) so head and feed to Wigan.

Just a couple more, the two head high tackles on Burrow when he ducked into them and Leeds went onto score. No problem with the referee giving them but there were two similar tackles on Tommy L and Deacon that went unpunished. It's that sort of inconsistency that frustrates fans.

St Pete is correct that Joel Tomkins try is probably not the best at Wembley but it is up there with them, and almost certainly the best at the New Stadium.

On the Stadium itself, great facilities, great view, plenty legroom, but why spend all that money and do sod all with the infrastructure. We were staying overnight so went by coach, why no link direct road from the motorway? It was after 6 p.m by the time we got off the car park.
Still far too few restaurants and bars close to the stadium and not enough toilets outside the ground.

Would agree with most of that Rogues, the one you missed was the spear tackle, when a knock on was given and Wigan scored from it. That was a definate penalty.
Also agree about the roads and surroundings, access isn't great and the area as a whole is crap. The stadium reminds me of one of those spanish hotels that looks absolutely superb, but is in the middle of a building site.

Further to my last, and not wanting to de-rail the thread, I think Tomkins should get a rap on the knuckles and a fine, but not a ban. Someone needs to have a little word in his ear re some of his on field behaviour.

Tompkins needs to man up and apologise. Then a fine and a warning will do.

From today's Guardian:

"There is no danger of Tomkins being hauled up before the weekly disciplinary hearing on Wednesday, as this will be a matter for the RFL's compliance department because it involves a possible breach of the Respect Code of Conduct – which requires players to show "respect for officials, for each other and for the spectators whose hard-earned money makes it all possible".

Such investigations tend to be lengthy, ruling out the possibility that the 22-year-old could be suspended for the Super League match at Warrington next Sunday".

What sam did was wrong and like other players have done in the past after similar incidents, he should make a public apology. He certainly hasn't done himself any favours by denying it in the interview. But like many people have said, rugby league is a rough tough sport this isn't crown green bowling....... and if the fans are happy enough to give out abuse and swear at players then even if it is wrong for a player to give it back, the abusing fans should just take it like men. Regardless of it being a sporting event in the public eye... if i spent 20 minutes on the sideline giving a player abuse then i have no right to start whinging and acting like im offended if i get something back once in a while..

To say he should be banned is unfair. regardless of whether its the challenge cup final on the bbc or a televised superleague game on sky, The RFL should do nothing more than be consistent, which again would mean no ban. You can't go saying "oh well that was ok because it was only on sky but this incident had a few more viewers on the bbc so he should be hanged......"

Either way next week should be a superb game played by the 2 best teams in rugby league at the moment, we should all be glad that its no longer the leeds/saints show every year. To all those who want to see sam smashed next week, fair play thats what rugby league is about, let the talking happen on the field. just like im sure many wigan fans would like to see brier's get the same treatment. Im sure many of you who arent wearing wire tinted specs will agree that just as silly as sam can be.. briers has been exactly the same in the past.

I've just been down too see "the boss" my 89 year old mother. I thought her comments probably summed up the Sam Tomkins incident better than any other.

"I hope his mam & dad have a word with him"

If Sam Tomkins is disciplined and punished by the rfl.I wonder if his will fine him too?

i would hope he plays against us on sunday but then again i think he deserves a ban for what he did.aside from being a great talent he is also a cheating,antagonising little turd who would not get the stick he does if he played the game in the spirit it should be played,opposing fans can see what his game is so lets hope the rfl do,i wouldn't hold my breath though.

No chance should Sam be banned, slap on the wrist and a few hundred quid fine should do.

I would be suprised if Lima gets away without a ban for his spear tackle, especially with his previous. Third(?) ban of the season for tackling technique related incidents should see quite a hefty ban levied if the RFL disciplinary committee want to be taken seriously (expect a caution and a warning letter about future conduct then).

I watched the Sky recording of the final and Barrie Mac (a Leeds employee) was commentating. he said that there was nothing wrong in that tackle.

Let's see what the RFL disciplinary have to say when they review game, including Baileys late tackle after the hooter on half time.

There is no doubt that Lima lifts Delaney's legs way past the horizontal and then "drives" (although "drives" in this instance is more than a little over dramatic) him down. He doesn't correct the position of Delaney's body and carry him down which he should have done if it had been an error.

Is that the best you can come up with on Bailey? Little Sam wasn't tackled at the time and was there to be hit. If you want the disciplinary to do Bailey for that "post-hooter" action I'll expect you to be demanding the death penalty for Tommy as a result of his "post hooter" tackle at full-time.

He has apologised:

[urlhttp://www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=rleague/11/08/29/RUGBYL_Wigan.html&BID=480[/url

Fair enough. Raises one question though - when he said 'he said he didn't know anything about it' when asked about it on Saturday what did he mean?

There are a lot of people who don't like Sam, there are many reasons why but it all results in people disliking him.

What he did was wrong, he stuck the Vs up toward the Leeds fans right infront of a camera. Live on BBC One, to a lot of people. Some people will be deeply offended by that. The majority of us on here enjoy a good beer and nothing more than the occasional abusive chant from the stands, but there are many people out there, watching our game at the highest level on a national channel, that don't and could have been offended by that.

People keep bringing up past moments, the most common one being the Lee Briers v Leeds in 2006. But, the RFL shouldn't even consider that. They should take every case as something brand new. Forget about who the player is, what team they play for, just look at their previous history with the Commitee and the offense they are currently there for and punish according to the rules and guidelines.

As a Warrington fan, I'm in two minds about him being banned. I'd love him to play, but would also love a go at the Wigan team without their "goldenboy".

He appologised, that's fair enough. But that was forced by Wigan. That's obvious with the fact that he was fined and punished by his own club before publicly appologising.

The RFL will probably get a fair amount of complaints from RL fans and the BBC, and they need to show they have a backbone.

They should bring him infront of the committee, and ban him. Show to the Rugby League world that the RFL DO have a backbone. Players have to follow THEIR rules and not think they are above the law.

They should tell him they don't care if next week is potentially the league leaders decider, the biggest game in SL the season, or the fact that he is one of Wigans (And dare i say it, one of the sports best players) and hit him with a ban and a fine. Especially because he DENIED doing it. He embarrassed the RFL by doing what he did and he should be FAIRLY punished for it, under the rules set by the RFL. Not just get a slap on the wrists and told not to do it again.

Maybe they tried this...

[urlhttp://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20590-rat-memory-restored-by-installing-replay-electronics.html[/url

It means that he was put on the spot and panic set in, that's all. Well done to Wigan for defusing a situation that was in danger of getting out of hand.