Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet has revealed he “can empathise” with Hull KR boss Willie Peters, after he opted to field a rotated side due to fatigue after the Robins played three games in nine days.
KR played Catalans Dragons on Thursday 13th August, before hosting Warrington Wolves on Tuesday 18th. On Saturday 22nd, they played Toulouse Olympique, and it was that final game that made it clear just how under the pump the Robins were, with a number of players visibly tired or going off injured, largely down to fatigue.
On the flip side, Wigan come into this game on a six-day turnaround, so should be relatively fresh, though no team is at 100% at this stage of the season.
The Warriors take on KR tomorrow night, in a repeat of last year’s Grand Final. The Warriors know all about fielding a weaker squad this year, and in this fixture particularly, with Wigan opting to play an inexperienced side against Rovers the week before the Challenge Cup Final.
Speaking to the press this week, Peet said that clubs are “entitled” to do what they like with their squad, so has no problems with Peters choosing a squad largely made up of reserve players.
“Every coach, and club, is entitled to field the team that they feel is going to get the job done in the long-term as well as the short-term,” he explained.
“I can empathise with what they have been through with the fixture pile-up and the pressure that puts on players and staff physically and mentally. Willie has every right to pick the team that is right for his group.
“We can’t let that affect us, as they didn’t when we went there. They were professional, and I admired the way they went about that.”
Commenting on his own squad, Peet said: “We’d already completed our week’s training before we saw the [Hull KR] squad, and we can’t let that affect us. We just have to concentrate on getting our own game right and doing the things that we’ve done in practice.”
Of course, this game now looks all but certain to be a Wigan win, but it’s not the two points that could be the big factor here, rather the points difference.
The Warriors sit level at the top with Leeds, but the Rhinos have a 192 better points difference. They obviously won’t gain all of that back in one game, but a hefty victory would take a dent out of that huge gulf with just three games to go.
St Helens’ new coach, World Cup fail and Hull KR’s top six chances – Click here to watch this week’s episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show
Matt Peet offers Wigan Warriors injury update
As it stands, Wigan are very healthy in terms of their squad, but two players who are missing are back-row pair Junior Nsemba and Liam Farrell.
On Nsemba, who hasn’t played since Magic Weekend at the start of July, Peet said: “Junior should be in the next week or two – he’s got another scan next week.”
Regarding skipper Farrell, who has been out for even longer, the boss revealed: “He’s got a check-up as well in the next week or so, and we’ll know more after that. Liam’s very much day-to-day, whereas Junior is more of a fixed timeframe.”
