I agree.

However, in an 'everyday' situation you punch a man in the face and knock him down, you would get punished. You punch a man in the face and he dies, you are punished more severely, even if the intention was the same (extreme example, but used to exemplify the point).

Its difficult not to take a resulting injury into account on the same principle, unfortunately.

Doesn't the fact that it took place way after the whistle was blown, and there were no aggrevating circumstances count against him. Also, of course he pleaded guilty - how could he not? So, pleading guilty shouldn't make a difference here as if he didn't he would probably get away with it for being mentally ill.

Very poor decision by the RFL.

It was only pure luck that Sam Tomkins didn't end up in Wigan Infirmary.

It was the worst attack to the head, I have seen, in many a year.

Had Tomkins been carried off on a stretcher it would have been double.

Didn't Howell start the Harlequins brawl in Catalan last as well?

Oh well.

The right decision by the RFL IMO. Showed leniancy for a player who is not normally dirty.

ok then. Richards elbows Briers in the face with 100% intention in our semi final and recives a red card, you are telling me you wont expect anything more than a 3 match ban and £300 fine because hes not normally dirty. nofl

For what its worth i think he should have got around 6-8 games for what he did. 100% intention and i am with the people who are saying had Sam been carried/stretchered off it would have been around that

Think so, got a one match ban

Again after the whistle on a smaller bloke.
Balls of steel this one

I really hoped he'd get 5+ Hock got 5 for just touvhing a ref! Very dissapointed, but not surprised in the least.
It could be a RFL conspiracy to keep the London team doing well

it is blatantly obvious what happens to the recipient of the challenge affects the punishment. Westwood got 5 games for a very bad challenge and Howell gets 3 for one even worse. The reason? Carlaw was stretchered off and Tomkins got up.

Which opens up a Pandoras box ? Roll around and play act like at football and the punishment is worse ? Play dead even ?

Which year was it that Alex Murphy played the 'dying swan' at Wembley that got Syd Hynes sent off ? 1971 ?

The maybe apocryphal story was that Murphy, when being stretchered off winked at Hynes and said "I'm coming back on. Your not !"

This was the very first time anyone had been sent off at Wembley. Of course quite a few on here, will recall the 1970 Colin Tyrer 'incident' when someone should have been sent-off.

The Hepworth Elbow