Peet: Special group
- Matt Peet praised his ‘special group’ after the Warriors were crowned the 2023 Super League Champions.
- Peet: “When reflecting on this team it will be regarded as a special group of players and men.”
- FT | Wigan Warriors 10-2 Catalans Dragons.
Matt Peet praised his ‘special group’ after Wigan Warriors were crowned Super League Champions following a 10-2 victory over Catalans Dragons at Old Trafford.
After a hard-fought first half, which saw the teams go into the break level at 2-2, the Warriors scored eight unanswered points through Liam Marshall and Harry Smith to lift the trophy.
Praising the players, Peet said: “I’m proud, but I’m not surprised as the players said what they were going to do. They do a lot of their own work, they formulate a lot of their own ideas and I’d like to think as coaching staff we give them our trust. At times this season when it hasn’t gone well we’ve lost together, but tonight we’ve won together.”
Speaking on the half time team talk, Peet said: “It was very much about our defence. We identified that Catalans were getting a little bit of joy down their left – Tyrone May in particular – so there were a few technical things that we went over. Then it was just a recap on what our message has been in recent months which comes back to trusting one another.”
Marshall scored the only try of the match in the 51st minute to win the match, and speaking on the winger, Peet said: “I just remember him poking his head through a lot at the yardage. Catalans have some big, aggressive defenders but the way he was getting in between people playing the ball fast just showed his immense courage. He’s an outstanding finisher and I hope he enjoys the moment.”
Jake Wardle became the first Wigan player since Liam Farrell in 2016 to be named the Harry Sunderland Trophy winner, and praising the centre, Peet said: “He was awesome and I just said ‘thank you’ to him. We are really grateful to have him at Wigan and I’m not more proud of him just because he has won the final, because he works hard daily. I’m pleased that he had this moment.”
When asked about 2024, Peet said: “You always want to build on success. When people look ahead to next year, we are underestimating some of the players that were on the field tonight – some of them will be moving on. When reflecting on this team it will be regarded as a special group of players and men.”
Ian Lenagan added one final trophy to his collection in a perfect end to his 16-year tenure, and on the departing Chairman, Peet said: “For us to get the win was exactly what he deserves. When he arrived he wanted to instil a winning culture and during his tenure he has led the Club through good times and some tough times as well. I have so much admiration for him and I hope he enjoys this moment.”
On the Warriors support, Peet said: “I hope our supporters can see we are building something at Wigan and that they are loving the way we are playing. If you trace back through the season we have had a lot of record away attendances for other Clubs, our atmosphere is growing at the DW Stadium as well as our Robin Park Arena Fan Village. People talk about what we are doing on the field but we are proud of what we are doing off it as well.”
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