Monday, February 24, 2014

Doubters, doubters, come about now you pouting doubters.

No more, no more, for he is the real deal right down to his very core.

But how could this be? A lad from afar, and no time against the might of the brightest of the Nrl's Rugby League stars.

Perplexed, with two fullbacks on the roster already, who is next, you don't know how and how can one so short of proven success be worth so much in a decision so vexed. Oh so complex.

This is Sam Tomkins, British sensation, try scorer extraordinaire and the man with the most. The most tries (144 in 151 games) in British super league and the man with the most in his bank account. Wigan's loss and another club's cost. Seven hundred and fifty thousand to be exact, and a hefty transfer fee.

And how could this be?

Maybe in his home country where Queen and Country beckon at his every success. But success in another - No. Not yet, at least. The yeast of this rising beast is still awaiting satisfaction against the toughest of the tough.

For the New Zealand Warriors have signed a star, yet an unknown quantity on these here shores. Who needs him? Surely he'll turn out to be no more than a show pony.
One who has not the least notion of what lays in store for him. Lest be careful what he wishes for as he may get more than he bargained for.

A gauntlet purveyed, a hopeful gaunt of worldly success and a gauntlet for he to express amid such stress. The tough and the burly, this is no attacking fest amid the calming courtesy of the Summer's fair. Indeed, the melancholy of a mid winter's dare awaits as willing disciples of the darkened arts of defence lick their lips in eager anticipation of cutting the tallest of poppies down to size.

Kevin Locke, ever heard of him? Fast and elusive, if somewhat inconsistent. Sam Tomkins - Fast and elusive and supposedly the height of consistency. But who would know when he has faced no more than the average defences of the north of England.

Not to mention the need for the Brit to test his mettle on defence. Oh, they'll run at him, for sure. They'll test his nerve and they'll test his verve and they'll throw in the odd curve ball to send the lad spiralling into panic under the duress of many a high ball.

A different world down this end of the sphere and a target on his head highlighting who is to be set up for the mightiest of falls.

Not one to shirk a challenge though, he is a man on a mission. To not knock a move of such magnitude; Such courage. A new Country and culture and a new way of life with the pressures of the footballing world upon his slim shoulders and only twenty-four.

Determined to succeed, he'll be there for the call, using that most valuable of commodities; Speed. Speed that will burn a hole in the stiffest of resistances and speed that transcends the trenches and leaves the blood strewn blades of defence at the mercy of the devoted dynamism of a slithering offense that brokers in many a broken dream.

Time will tell if tales are told in this vein.