I read the NRL bit about Bateman's contract extension this morning. I though it was an odd thing to publicise too.

Maybe fans of wakefield for example. But after those first few devastating seasons at fullback when Maguire came in the better teams have learned to deal with and control him, if not completly contain it.

Someone like, say...Zak Hardaker is probably a better all round fullback.

You are right Hardaker might indeed be a better all round full back, in that he does most things well. But what Zak doesn't possess is that x-factor that wins games. Zak is fine in a good team, but he isn't a match winner. It's like comparing Minichiello and Slater.

I'm not sure why people can't accept that. Sam has won more games through individual brilliance than any other player in Super League. He has on occasion, dropped the odd bomb or missed the odd tackle, but he always more than makes up for it.

Not that surprising at all. You should see the stick than Shaun Johnson gets from Warriors fans. Never mind that he single-handedly wins them about 50% of their games, but do they cut him a little slack for the odd error/quiet game?

Do they hell!

How about: Sam Tomkins - worst signing in Superleague history

A bit harsh when he hasn't played a game on his latest Wigan contract. Give the lad a chance. He's a decent player, no Zac Hardaker I'll grant you, but still decent.


And Retire to a safe distance

Sam Tomkins is a damn fine rugby league player. He was not a failure in the NRL. I am supported in my opinion by none other than Andrew (Vossy) Voss. He sang Tomkins praises during a commentary. Not only did he sing his praises, he predicted Sam would win Man of Steel next season. I agree with Aboveusonlypie regarding Sam having the ability to win games for his team. I disagree that Hardaker is the better, all round Full Back. A Full Back must have a kicking game so as to be a last tackle option. Sam has that, Hardaker doesn't. Tomkins joins the line better than Hardaker. Hardaker is safer under the high ball and a better tackler. I'm glad we have Tomkins.

23 tries 20 assists challenge cup medal and grand final ring suggest no one particularly controlled or contained him. He was our main attacking weapon in a season we won the double. I'm absolutely delighted he's back, you can have Zak I'll stick with Sam thanks.

Genuine question that I don't know the answer to, is it possible to find out how many of those tries and assists were against Leeds, Saints or Wire - would be good to see what the ratio is like (and not just trying to be negative, I genuinely would be interested to know, as there seems to be a view that he only really performs regularly against the weaker teams).

Comparing Hardaker and Tomkins on tries/try assists only doesn't really work, as their teams use them differently. As has been pointed out, Tomkins was the focal point of your attack, your main scoring weapon - Leeds don't use Hardaker that way, sure he's still good in attack, but his defence is his number 1 priority, followed by starting our sets well with yardage (along with Hall and Briscoe) - clearly he also gets involved in attacking sets, but Leeds have other weapons in attack so that the ball isn't always heading to Hardaker to finish things off - Hall, Watkins, Briscod and even Moon to a degree are seen as the 'finishers' more often than not.

That's why a comparison isn't really that useful, but if you are trying to compare, you need to compare all facets, offensively and defensively to get a more rounded picture and then make a judgement. In truth, Sam is better for Wigan, Zak is better for Leeds based on their respective playing styles..... Neither would be as effective at the opposite club - though I would argue that Hardaker would probably do the better of the two if they swapped clubs just because he 'ticks more boxes' as a fullback IMO, and Sam wouldn't necessarily be able to do what Zak does for Leeds in terms of the hard graft.

I'm not comparing stats at all. Just showing that for someone who was supposed to have been controlled/ contained he did pretty damn well. As for who would do better, nobody will ever know, and quite frankly who cares! Against the bigger teams I don't know if you can get those stats, but I'm not that bothered, we won the double, with him as our main attacking weapon.