Matt Peet reflects after Wigan Warriors hammer Leigh Leopards

Wigan Warriors put in a dominant performance to beat Leigh Leopards 38-0 and book their place in the Grand Final and head coach Matt Peet has had his say.

Whilst Wigan were certainly heavy favourites to defeat the Leopards, few would have expected such a dominant and one-side performance with the Warriors running in three tries each half as they booked their place at Old Trafford.

It seemed that Wigan Warriors head coach Matt Peet was one of those who had not expected that either as he told Sky Sports post-match: “You come in expecting a two-point game, and knowing that you’ve got to do a lot right to win a semi-final, but it was certainly better than I would have anticipated.

Despite the relative ease of the victory, head coach Matt Peet labelled the game as a ‘proper semi-final’, at least for the first 25 to 30 minutes before his side scored their third and started to put the game out of Leigh’s reach.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the victory, Peet explained: “I’m very pleased. Obviously, you’re always nervous coming to a semi-final. Leigh have been in good form and I knew that we had to get the start right or anything could happen.

“I was pleased with how we started the game particularly. I thought it was a proper semi-final for 25 to 30 minutes and we managed it pretty well.”

Approaching half-time, Wigan extended their lead to 18-0 and from that point, it looked incredibly tough for Leigh to get back into the game, something that the Warriors ensured when they scored just after the break.

Wigan Warriors cruise past Leigh despite ‘shackles on’

From there, Wigan were in cruise control and the fifth and sixth tries came from the team’s mercurial talents of French and Field who scored tries that no other player in Super League could do.

Peet noted that flair in spite of the fact the performance was generally suffocating and workmanlike.

He explained: “At half-time, we put the first half to one side. We spoke a little bit about the team we want to be so probably the shackles didn’t come off completely.

“There were glimpses in there though and I think it’s good when you can beat a team where you show discipline and structure but you’ve got that flair for when the opportunity presents itself, and be able to take it.”

Despite indulging in that flair, it was the defence that Peet was most pleased with and that’s something his side will need next week if they’re to beat Hull KR.

On what aspect impressed him the most, he said: “It would have to be defensive. I thought when Leigh was coming out of their end, we did a lot right that we’ve not been doing as well as we could. We were just a little bit more connected and I thought we controlled it.

“I think we all admit if you’re going to prepare a team against us then you try and get ruck speed early in sets. We’ve got a big middle so your strength is your weakness and so we’re aware of that. We talk about it a lot and we probably executed it better today.”