Bench spot? or do you not advocate him as a first 17 player? I do not think he should have started but worth a place on the bench, add to this fact we are playing the worst team in the history of SL next week did he really need "resting". It simply means the week after he will have had the best part of 3 weeks without any game time.

I wouldn't have had a problem with him on the bench, but Riddell needs games and McIllorum deserves his spot and it will help the continuity next week.

No we aren't - Halifax Blue Sox hold that crown.

He wasn't "rested" he wasn't selected because he wasn't going to play next week.

I really can't understand what point your making beyond having a pop at Noble.

Sam Tomkins is one of the few payers we have who we can bring on to offer something different and at times this season our attack has reverted to being one dimensional.

Smith went off the boil tonight which is hardly surprising given he was away on family business down under so won't have been training or playing with the team.

So therefore it made even less sense to leave Sam T out as it was likely Smith would tire.

A bench spot for Sam T and one less prop would have been a much better selection from Noble IMO for this reason alone.

Salford have a poor pack and with Hansen on the bench able to fill in at prop as well we were hardly in danger of losing the forward battle.

Is this, whick I feel think a well reasoned argument that Noble made a mistake, "having a pop" at Noble? No doubt someone will think so but I'd like to think it was a reasoned argument that he made a selection error in not having cover for a player who was likely to tire.

No need to do the half back/hooker merry go round when Sam T came on. Just a straight swap for Smith.

Dave

All the more important for Smith to play and see the game through then as Sam isn't about next week.

He was either dropped or rested tonight. The official line from Wigan is he was rested due to his involvement next week with England. Tony Smith has said there is 1 player who will not play next week and is there for the experience and named Tomkins as that player.

We have entered into a pretty easy spell regards fixtures which even in our current state we should win. In my opinion Tomkins deserves his spot over McIllorum on form in our strongest 17. As it stands it will be a month between first team games for him, if selected in our next game after Celtic, and the fixtures pick up in quality again with Sam our main strike back off the bench a month without first team, or any for that matter rugby.

He may get half a game in the reserves today.

Wigan are down to 15 fit players at that level and the academy are also playing away at Salford, so they can't use many of them.

To be honest a three week break is probably ideal for Sam, but as I said in the thread about the 19 for last nights game I would have had him in the team in place of McIlorum.

He always lowers his standard to lesser talented teams

He is playing in a poor team and has been very good for the majority of the season. In the last 2 games Salford have been totally outplayed and the forwards have been dominated. No scrum half in the world would make a difference in those circumstances.

From what I have seen of Tomkins he has been largely annonymous and isnt even a first choice Wigan half back. He has some talent but is very overated imo and I cant ever see him being a top scrum half.

Its a good job the people who matter and who actually know RL think different

Do you care to expand? Noble doesnt seem to think much different and he is the Wigan coach. Oh I forgot only Wigan fans can criticise Wigan youngsters

I'm a Hull FC fan and think Tomkins is a tremendous young talent. I'd love him at Hull although he'd suffer behind our terrible pack. I think he'd form a great partnership with Myler and I think it should be those two against the French.

I have seen him play far more than 2 or 3. He has no organisational game, a poor kicking game and often goes missing in matches. You dont even realise he is playing half the time. His best points are his defence and his elusiveness. However even this has become predicatable as he constantly tries to dummy and go himself until it finally works on the 20th occasion against a tiring defence.

Myler has faults too but even at a younger age is already a better all round player, hence his England selection last year and this.

Well this guy with no organisational game, poor kicking game and who goes missing, has just torn your reserves to pieces almost single handedly in the second half this afternoon - and didn't even break a sweat doing it.

A perfectly positioned kick after the very first set in the first half got Wigan a repeat set (he has a poor kicking game?).

On two occasions he kicked through and followed himself, collecting and then setting up tries.

Fair enough that's not first team - but you could not be more wrong in your assessment of Tomkins.

I don't think I've ever seen a player who enjoys playing rugby more than Sam.

He was supposed to be on the subs bench in the first half. However after about 10 minutes he'd had enough. He was alongside Phil Vievers for the rest of the half badgering Vievers to get him on the field.

As you say once on the field he just took control.