ECG come on dont spoil the fun, we've had some good chomps so far.

Seriously though, when did anyone really think Eastmond was likely to turn out to be a better player than Tomkins? Don't get me wrong, Eastmond had a lot of potential and IMO is a big loss to RL but realistically he never looked as sure a bet for the big time as Sam. Tomkins has an Edwards-esque will to win that was always going to carry him to the very top of RL. Only an absolutely sensational season from Paaat put him ahead of Tomkins last season. This season Sam is easily the best player in SL and would have been even if Eastmond had not decided to leave for RU. You know it, other Saints fans know it, even Wire fans know it - Tomkins is the best player in the comp.

Is it not spelt Tompkins?

Can anyone be bothered to dig up those Dire fans saying Myler was better than Sam?

I don't think there's any doubt that Eastmond had bags of potential, and I put it on record that I was disappointed when he opted to defect. But any player who tails off the way he has this year has surely got very little heart, and it seems likely that this would have manifested itself in some form even if he hadn't gone to Union.

For one thing, his injury record has been extraordinarily poor for so young a player. Either his body's not up to the rigors of the game, or his mind isn't. Either way it's not want you want in your star halfback.

It's possible the constant Union chat that seems to have surrounded Eastmond for so long proved a distraction to him, but there have been numerous Union approaches for Tomkins which Wigan have managed to both keep quiet and fight off. There are many ways now in which Sam could show Kyle what it means to be a professional rugby player.

My sig is another good one about Tomkins :p

In all fairness, it would have been nice to have the opportunity to have Tomkins and Eastmond and Englands 6 and 7 for many years to come.

IMO Tomkins was always better than Eastmond. Some of the runs he makes, i don't think eastmonds ever done (probably wrong) and some of the plays he comes up with are just out of this world.

Both are different players with different styles. Personally Tompkins has always been a more natural rugby league player. Eastmond certainly has the speed which will suit him perfectly in Union however he lacks that natural side step and eye to create a gap that Tompkins has.

And the sad thing is, Eastmond will get far more column inches in the press when he plays Union than Sam will ever get playing rugby league. Eastmond has the chance to be a massive hit in Rugby Union - whether he takes that chance is yet to be seen.

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Eastmond and Tomkins have a similar natural ability level but you can't coach toughness, heart, desire and a sheer will to win and only one of them has it.

Tomkins was always the better prospect because of it.

Too much was made of Eastmond being the next Jason Robinson; a lot of this was down to the physical similarities. I can't blame a RU coach wanting to uncover the next Jason Robinson and I can't blame Eastmond taking the option of RU

As others have alluded to, the Union PR machine will gloss over all Eastmond's cracks, unless they feel they've been genuinely short-changed or if, like Henry Paul, he speaks out against Union's flaws (some chance).

There's no doubt that Robinson was a success in Union, but the way they go on you'd think he'd never had a career before then. When Robinson left Wigan, he'd won almost everything and was virtually a veteran.

Sorry, I had me sensible hat on.

By the way, who's ECG???

Robinson and Connelly had the spell in RU in the off season so Robinson had at least shown the impact he could have in RU.

I don't think he has ever been anything like Robinson in either style or ability. A couple of years ago his style and strength reminded me a little of (and I'm almost embarrassed to say this now) The Black Pearl himself. But that was then and he has, quite literally, fallen to bits now.