Peet: Showed commitment

• Matt Peet gave his thoughts as Wigan Warriors beat St Helens at the DW Stadium to secure a second placed finish.
• Peet: “The manner, the commitment that the lads showed for one another, the desire to defend the goal line as we needed to do – it was that element of the performance that makes us proud of one another.
• FT | Wigan Warriors 30-10 St Helens.

Matt Peet said he was pleased with the manner of his team’s performance as the Warriors took the 30-10 win on derby day at the DW Stadium.

Speaking at full time, Peet said: “The manner, the commitment that the lads showed for one another, the desire to defend the goal line as we needed to do – it was that element of the performance that makes us proud of one another. It’s not easy to generate and I thought we showed a hell of a lot of commitment to one another, hard work.”

He added: “Some of the opportunities came from good defence, some came from quick transitions. We looked to play, we got our eyes up so as far as an arm wrestle, Saints were clearly the team that won the arm wrestle but there’s more to a game than that.”

Speaking on the intensity of the game, he said: “I think it prepares you for the kind of games that are coming, the intensity and the 80-minute nature of it. We probably got a lot of our goal-line defence practice in tonight.

“Any team that plays St Helens has to come through that, they put you in difficult positions, they build pressure well and you’ve got to be comfortable in those positions. You’re not going to have a game where you dominate field position but it doesn’t mean that you can’t post points.”

Summarising, Peet reflected on the togetherness of the Wigan squad: “You want a group that stand for something, you don’t just want a good group of players you want a group of people who play for one another, their families, the fans, the town and this town is built on work ethic and doing things for your mate.

“It’s about hard work and sticking together, that’s what makes us proud. The team on the field are what we want to be about, you can teach anyone set moves and plays but I think when you get a group who will run their blood to water for one another and throw their body on the line – that’s pure desire.”