Performing poorly is par for the course in Round 1 for us, which is a vast improvement on the Noble years when we only started playing in Round 7 or so. Quite a few of our players didn't perform well enough and didn't gel, whereas a few others have let themselves down in other ways.
Logan Tomkins seems to have been watching videos of his big brother from a few years ago. There was no need for it then and no need for it now. Not only is it grubby play but trapping defenders will only win you a couple of (unjust) penalties while the rest of the time it will merely slow down your attack. He isn't good enough for the Wigan squad, and I think he knows it. We need a better back up for Micky Mac.
Joel Tomkins reverted to type. When Widnes scored their last try he went looking for trouble, in the words of ThePrinter, "like a kid who's had too much fizzy pop". Embarrassing and shines the light on us in totally the wrong way yet again.
Marty Smith let himself down in the same incident. I do think it's grubby to barge into a player in order to "celebrate" but to react to it by kicking out is utterly unprofessional. He was lucky to get a yellow on the night and he'll be incredibly lucky to avoid further punishment at the panel.
James Child had a 'mare, and while lots of fans will only see decisions going Wigan's way he made some right clangers both ways. The Ah Van red stands out, of course. It was harsh, I'm sure Ah Van had no malicious intent, but let's not forget it ended Charnley's game and was pretty reckless. If refs are consistent with head shots (intentional or not) we can't really complain. That remains to be seen though.
Well done Widnes.
