The difference between MM and Bentley at its base level without even discussing playing ability is that MM is respected by his team mates and the opposition, Bentley is not.

They're worlds apart MM and Bentley. One is a genuine enforcer, who doesn't need to try and get under anyones skin and is naturally intimidating (with Jon Wilkin describing him as his scariest opponent and one who gave him sleepless nights in the lead up to Derbies) and the other is a pretender. Micky Mac would've been a tough player in any era, whereas Bentley only carries on as he does because he knows he won't get flattened in the modern game due to the rules. If Bentley had been around 30/40 years ago, he would've kept his head down and if possible, he would've been even more average than he is now.

I really like the addition of Sam Tomkins to the Sky team this year.
His analysis of rugby league games is a refreshing change from some of his predecessors drivel down the years.
But imo Sam was very unprofessional on saturday with his personal comments regarding Bentley on live tv
He does 'stupid' things,I think for every good thing he does, he does something stupid. I think that’s his issue. He’s not got consistency. It’s not what he does when he’s got the ball in hand. It’s just that he has these brain explosions regularly. He’s a decent player. He’s not outstanding or a real top-end player, but he comes up with too many daft things."'"

Are they personal? They just look like an honest opinion on a players ability and if people want honesty, well there you go.

He didn't say he's got a brain the size of garden pea, a face only a mother could love or that he needs a haircut. Those comments are a bit personal and definitely not the sort of thing I'd say about James Bentley.

How good would a player have to be to put up with the downsides a guy like Bentley brings? certainly a better player than he is. I look at somebody like JWH in Australia and he's picked up ban after ban but his upside is huge and he has been a World Class player. I was surprised Leeds kept Bentley on tbh, I just don't think they need the problems he brings. They already have one loose cannon in Harry Newman but I can see why you would take the risk with him because he's a fantastic player IMO and also has huge potential to get better. He looks like he might be waking up a bit and I think his time with England helped clear his head a bit but Bentley just goes around in circles.

I can agree with this Nicky, but I was merely pointing out that it was very rare that pundits went so in depth to make these type of comments about players live on Sky Sports.
The comment i highlighted was this one


Although in Sam's defense he has had to endure these kind of media degradation's regarding his ability as a player when the Aussie media claimed that he was the worst NRL signing in the competitions history (considering his large transfer fee paid for his services from the Warriors)
TBF to Sam at the time he took it on the chin and only pointed out the positives from his time there,So I guess that he can not only give it,but also take it too.

If you were listing the top 20 back rowers in SL, Bentley would be lucky to be considered, let alone make the list.

If you were listing the top 5 grubs in SL, he probably takes the top 3 spots by himself.

ST made a fair and reasoned argument, which is something that's been lacking on sky for several years.

My take is that Rugby League needs characters, as much as we love/hate them, s***houses and wind-up merchants bring entertainment value to the game which I feel like the sport sometimes forgets that's what it is: entertainment. The sport should not snuff out players who bring that energy to the game. However, Sam Tomkins does make a very good point, if you are going to be a player who winds up the opposition, you need to back it up and James Bentley doesn't have the ability or skills to do that. Like NickyKiss said, players like JWH have the skills to back it up and can risk the ban because when they do play, they can be game-winners.

Agreed

Jake Connor is another example

Agreed I listen to sky begging that lad up and I fail to see why