Sam Tomkins: coming to an NRL club near you

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

Tomkins will be a success, but he needs a good coach and I don't think Matt Elliot is the coach for him.

 

[Diesel]

I wouldn't be surprised if ME was moved to director of coaching type role and David Kidwell was coach.

Elliott has had to undo a lot of things his predecessor messed up, even though the Warriors are 2-6, they have been competitive in 4 of those losses, whereas last year the team was giving up 18 point leads

 

[The Great Dane]

This guy is easily 3rd best fullback behind Slater and Inglis and would walk into any NRL side except Storm/Souths. Can't wait for him to play here and leave all these clowns with their jaw on the floor.

Sam Tomkins is good, really good but third best fullback in the game is jumping the gun a little bit. ATM he's maybe 5th at a stretch, but his got heaps and heaps of potential and if he was with the right team and coach I can see him becoming one of the greater fullbacks of all time.

What about Hall he's a freak. I'd love to see him in the NRL and I'd be willing to bet that with the right coach he would make one hell of a fullback not unlike GI.

 

[Joker's Wild]

We have to get him here, simple as that. If it means some club has to pay a bit extra for him then so be it.

If Tomkins is lost to union then that would be a real shame. For English Rugby League it gives supporters a true star around which they can market the game, and if he makes it in Aus it will only enhance his reputation further.

As to the debate about his abilities, there's no question he would be extremely good in the NRL. From my limited viewings he has the pace and skill to match it with the best fullbacks. I would love to have him at North Queensland.

For $1M? Who are you willing to lose from your squad to meet that price?

 

[shiznit]

Sam Tomkins was born in my home town and there is no bigger fan of his than me and I really believe he'd a genuine success in the NRL

However the price tag requested for his services is simply silly

No player can take up that much salary cap on their own without being tested

Paying him close to a million means you rate him alongside Cam Smith who is the games most influential player. That's just daft.

I'd be offering him $500,000 for two years with options to extend / increase to closer to $750,000 if he proves himself. Anyone willing to pay close to $750k straight up is just desperate.

Oh and re the comments from Chicken Hunter about Sam playing against Australia. I remember a game between England and Australia where Sam made Australian tacklers miss and he looked every bit at home in that game as Billy Slater did for the Australians. Having watched League internationals since the late 90's it was the first time I'd seen Australian defenders grasping at air when an English back had the ball. An Australian friend of mine made exactly the same comment the following day.

However, one game is not evidence enough for the money being asked for

actually pal... that comment is daft... people need to get out of there heads that a players standing in the game is determined by how much they are paid.

the consensus best fullback in the game is Billy Slater...

yet Jarryd Hayne is paid substantially more than him...

would anyone suggest that Jarryd Hayne is a better player than Billy Slater??

Hell no... they are paid differently because of a number of reasons... a lot of which come down to timing and circumstances.

people seriously need to get out of there head this idea that an elite player is worth a certain amount...

A PLAYER IS WORTH WHAT A CLUB IS WILLING TO PAY!!

some clubs have a MASSIVE amount of cap space... and need quality players... so they can afford to pay more than another club for a player...

some clubs are very successful a thus have been hit hard by the cap... so players are willing to take a hit in pay to stay in a good environment.

The Warriors are a club who struggle to bring over Australian talent... and develop alot of there talent through the systems they have in place.

so from all reports they have well over a million dollars to play with...

if Sam Tomkins is to benefit from this... then so be it... but you don't start saying he's not worth the money because cameron smith decided to go with $750K from Melborune and turn his back on 1M plus from the likes of the Warriors and the Titans.

 

[Raiders_Premiers]

If he comes who would he go to?

I can see the Broncos chucking decent cash at him, not sure who else.

 

[BennyV]

Sam Tomkins is good, really good but third best fullback in the game is jumping the gun a little bit. ATM he's maybe 5th at a stretch, but his got heaps and heaps of potential and if he was with the right team and coach I can see him becoming one of the greater fullbacks of all time.

Woud have to disagree, can't think who else to put in front of him other than GI and Slater...
Hayne: Tomkins is quicker, a better ball runner and positionally better, Hayne probably has him on playmaking but on the rest, I'd go Tomkins.
Stewart: Tomkins support play and running are easily as good as Stewarts, plus he is more creative
Barba: I think someone suggested this before, not sure if it was a serious suggestion - Barba has 1 good season running off a HUGE forward, talented guy but doesn't put him in the top echelon for fullbacks, looks a dud this year
Bowen: Tomkins is a more complete player
Boyd: Probably etches him out in terms of ballplaying, but Tomkins gets him everywhere else.

If you actually watch Tomkins play and get over the NRL superiority complex, its easy to see just how classy this guy is (although by all accounts, he is a complete tool).

 

[Perth Red]

I think people are mixing up the million $ bit, that is what Wigan want in a transfer fee not necessarily his contract offer. Besides it is just media talk, no club in their right mind is going to pay $1mill for an untried FB. How do transfer fees get calculated on the salary cap, if they do?

 

[shiznit]

Transfer fees don't come under the salary cap

Yet if an NRL club contracts a player from the English Super League, as South Sydney did with Sam Burgess, while the NRL club must pay any transfer fee involved, it does not count in its salary cap.

In other words, the Rabbitohs didn't have to include the transfer fee levied on Burgess by Bradford in their cap, but they must include the fee involved in the possible transfer of Inglis from the Storm.

From: http://m.smh.com.au/rugby-league/le...-up-a-salarycap-minefield-20101108-17kic.html

 

[Tone83]

Quicker than hayne? Would make him quicker than billy and possibly the fastest player in the nrl, you sure?

Better ball runner is hard to swallow as well, when hayne wants to play properly his ball running is second only to gi.

 

[grouch]

Transfer fees don't come under the cap.

It seems that is only true for some clubs.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...itle-contenders--for-2014-20130506-2j2l4.html

Issues over how much the signing of Rangi Chase would cost towards the Dragons' salary cap are believed to have again put his return from Castleford on hold, with Fairfax Media told the NRL want to include a transfer fee - despite Souths not having to do so when they secured the release of Sam and Luke Burgess from Super League clubs.

An appalling double standard.

 

[shiznit]

The NRL wouldn't have a leg to stand on if they tried to include transfer fees now. They needed to make it a hard and fast rule at the start of the season not bring it up now.

Clubs could just ignore it and if the transfer fee takes them over the cap the club would sue the shit out of the NRL to get out of any sanction

 

[BennyV]

Quicker than hayne? Would make him quicker than billy and possibly the fastest player in the nrl, you sure?

Better ball runner is hard to swallow as well, when hayne wants to play properly his ball running is second only to gi.

Him wanting to play and run the ball is the issue, because he doesn't do it that often. Jamie Soward is spectacular when he 'wants to run the ball' but the fact is that he doesnt do it that often, which means he isnt the best ball runner. While Hayne's quality might be marginally higher, Tomkins's quantity is worlds above Haynes.

 

[LeedsStorm]

It seems that is only true for some clubs.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...itle-contenders--for-2014-20130506-2j2l4.html

An appalling double standard.

Surely it just depends if the player in question is under contract? I know in the case of Luke Burgess, and indeed Danny Buderus and Greg Eastwood, Leeds terminated the contracts out of goodwill or simply because they didn't want the legal obligation of paying the wages of a player unhappy/unwilling to play for the club.

 

[Jankuloski]

I mostly watch NRL, but I get to an occasional Super League game. There is no question that Sam Tomkins is one hell of a player.

There is no point in reviewing Eng v Aus games becuase the entire English team was outgunned. And the reason they are is simply - depth. And this will be the greatest problem for Sam.

As was mentioned before, SL has 5-6 teams that are of high standard. Then you have another 5ish who are average (definitely not on par with NRL teams). Add to that 2 teams who are frankly lower grade, but are a necessary evil in order to grow the game. This means that there is no consistent pressure on a player as much as in the NRL. I know that he is very competitive, so I believe he will not buckle mentaly under the challenge, but we will see how his body will cope and whether he will have injuries.

Bar injury woes, he will be one of the outstanding fullbacks in the NRL. I hope James Roby follows this path as well. I have certain doubts about Ryan Hall.

Is the package worth a million? Weeell.. better than the Warriors not spending up to the cap, right?

 

[Tone83]

I'll feel sorry for the bastard if he has to live in new zealand, I'd tell them to keep their million dollars.

 

[nrlnrl]

No doubt he has plenty of talent, but his success in the NRL ( if he signed ) would depend on the team he joined - their playing style, the coach & other players.

 

[I bleed blue & gold]

I hope he comes to the NRL, the more quality players the better.

 

[BODISGOD]

Behind Slater and Inglis but he is a top quality player. Not sure he's worth a million at all though but the Warriors probably need to pay overs to attract players.

 

[newman]

He's got more natural talent than about 80% of NRL players. Why are people assuming that he can't cut it? Sure the ESL is a weaker comp but he's been one of, if not the best, player in the thing for a number of seasons and he's done well at international level.

Top player. Gun player. He needs to be in the NRL. But a million bucks a season? Not yet. Do we Even believe that figure? I don't.