Wigan coach Brian Noble has hailed Sam Tomkins as a "gem" after the stand-off scored a hat-trick in their victory against Castleford.
Wigan boss says youngster's performance won them the game
Wigan coach Brian Noble has hailed Sam Tomkins as a "gem" after the stand-off scored his first Super League hat-trick in their 29-26 victory against Castleford.
The win at The Jungle enabled the Warriors to secure their place in the play-offs with two games left of the regular season.
But it was the performance of 20-year-old Tomkins that had Noble purring, Wigan's boss admitting that the youngster had probably won them the game.
He touched down twice in the first half to give his side a 16-8 first-half lead and completed his hat-trick after 66 minutes.
That last score ended a brave fightback by the Tigers, who had trailed 22-8 early in the second half.
"He probably won us the game with his individual efforts tonight," said Noble. "That's what he can do. He came up trumps.
"We have a gem on our hands. He needs a fair bit of polish but he knows that. He's completely level-headed."
Castleford coach Terry Matterson also thought Tomkins was the difference between the two sides.
"His star keeps on growing," he said. "We spoke about him beforehand but he's one of those guys you think you've tackled and he gets away.
"I'm real excited for the future of England with the likes of Tomkins coming through. I just wish he wasn't playing tonight."
Castleford had trailed by 14 points in the second period but hit back with two tries from winger Kirk Dixon to draw level on 64 minutes.
However, the Tigers were subsequently undone once more by Tomkins' trickery and with play-off rivals Harlequins, Catalans Dragons and Warrington all losing at the weekend, they still need at least one more win to secure their place in the top eight.
Even so, Matterson was delighted with the improvement his side had shown following their 76-12 thrashing by Leeds a week earlier.
"We didn't get what we came for but we regained some lost pride and we played to the death, which pleased me," he said.
"I felt we created enough opportunities to win but we didn't take our chances. At 22-22, I felt we had the momentum but we let them off lightly."
