“Below-par” Wigan Warriors ‘beaten in all areas’ explains Matt Peet

Wigan Warriors were beaten handily by Hull KR at Craven Park with the Robins running out as 26-10 victors in a game where the visitors were “beaten in all areas” according to head coach Matt Peet.

The visitors had the chance to go top of Super League whilst home side Hull KR were looking for a response after their dismal showing against Catalans Dragons and Willie Peters certainly got a response.

Just five minutes into the game Jesse Sue steamrolled Liam Farrell to open the scoring before ex-Wigan man Oliver Gildart added another in quick succession.

With points at a premium Mikey Lewis took two to make it 12-0 before Peta Hiku started and finished a break to open up a three score-lead to make it 18-0 at the break.

Bevan French’s cut-out pass to Abbas Miski saw the Lebanese international give Wigan hope but Super League try number 245 for Ryan Hall and a length-of-the-field effort by Kelepi Tanginoa killed the game off, rendering Liam Farrell’s late score as simply a consolation.

That 26-10 defeat meant that Wigan Warriors were unable to jump to the top of Super League and Matt Peet has assessed the poor performance.

Wigan Warriors “need to be better”

Speaking on Sky Sports after the defeat, the Wigan boss explained: “I think we were well beaten in all aspects really. I thought particularly the way they defended their goal line, they defended our players better than we did theirs.

“In the first half particularly I thought that uncharacteristically some of our defence was pretty poor. I won’t say soft tries because it discredits Hull KR but we know that we are better in those areas.

“They scrambled really well when we moved the ball, so all credit to them, but we need to be better.”

What is potentially more concerning for Wigan was the fact that they were close to full-strength, barring long-term absentee Willie Isa, and yet they were put to the sword by the Robins.

Young Ethan Havard returned to action after his hamstring injury sustained in the Grand Final had left him sidelined for a prolonged period, with Peet confirming that Havard’s return and the team’s second-half resilience were among the few positive elements to take back along the M62.

Matt Peet calls for response

Another concern for Wigan Warriors is that if they want to get back into the win column then they’ll have to do it the hard way with Catalans Dragons their next opponents.

Catalans were also beaten resoundingly with Leigh Leopards grabbing just their second win of the season as they hammered the French side 30-2 at the Leigh Sports Village.

Steve McNamara’s side will be back in the borough of Wigan again next week when they travel to the DW Stadium, that game being one in which Matt Peet is hoping for a response.

Assessing the loss to KR, he said: “We’ve got some work to do, no doubt about it. There are some things that I need to correct that were below par. I thought second half we were better to be fair to the lads.”

Hull KR themselves had bounced back following defeat to Catalans and Wigan will now be tasked with responding to a loss against the Robins ahead of a game against Catalans, something that Matt Peet was asked if his side could replicate.

To that, he answered: “I hope so, I hope so but each fixture is a stand-alone fixture and to go through the season having dips and then responses isn’t really good enough. It’s not what I want to be about, it’s got to be about setting a standard.”

Footage of Matt Peet’s interview can be seen here.