Matt Peet on Wigan Warriors squad rotation and credits Salford Red Devils efforts following Warriors victory

Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet has admitted that whilst they’re disappointed to not be featuring in next week’s Challenge Cup final, he’s grateful that his squad will get an extra few days to recover as they battle multiple knocks.

The Warriors won convincingly 46-6 away to Salford Red Devils on Friday night, but Peet thought there was certainly room for improvement and gave Salford credit for their scramble as a squad.

Peet talked to Wigan’s media after the match and shared that he had to make a couple of late changes to his line-up following illness and injuries.

He said: “Faz (Liam Farrell) has been carrying a knock for a while, so we wanted to rest him. Kruise (Leeming) was supposed to be on the bench, but he’s poorly.

“Then just the odd bangs and bruises that won’t do any harm to take a week off.

“But more so, the lads who had an opportunity earned it as they’ve been working hard. It was a good opportunity to get them out there.”

Wigan are no strangers to developing youngsters and giving them chances, the Warriors had three of them in their squad, including Kian McDermott on his senior debut.

The Wigan Warriors boss stated that he’s a popular player amongst the squad, and it was actually them who insisted he was ready for a first-team call-up.

He added: “One thing that’s impressed me is how highly all the players have spoken about him in small conversations and how keen they were for him to get an opportunity.

“I knew he was a good player and popular, but I’ve been enthused by just how much they’ve all enjoyed him being in the team this week; I think he lifted us a bit.”

Whilst Peet was complimentary of the youngster, he was more critical of the team’s performance.

Whilst a 46-6 victory looks good on paper, he thought that the scoreline should’ve been much bigger, despite Salford’s efforts.

He said: “I’m pleased to come through with the win in decent fashion. Defensively, for large parts, we were very good, and I thought we built our win off that.

“Points-wise and attack-wise, there’s no doubt we created a lot, but we could’ve executed better a few times and scored more points.

“There’ll be things for individual players, particularly the younger players. We rotated, and that probably showed at times, as we weren’t as cohesive as you’d like to be when you rotate.

“Credit goes to Salford for the way they committed to the game and scrambled for one another.”

Wigan Warriors Matt Peet praises Salford Red Devils squad and Paul Rowley despite challenges

The Warriors coach also wanted to credit the job that Salford coach Paul Rowley has done, despite a myriad of challenges both on and off the field.

He added: “Salford are a well-coached team, and as much as they’ve got their challenges this year, Paul does a good job in getting them to play with commitment.”

Looking ahead to a week off, Peet shared that his side will be having training as usual, as there is plenty to address, as whilst they’re still second in Super League, they have much loftier ambitions.

He finished: “We’ll train through the week. We have a few bits of individualised focus in training and a few team sessions to get some work into the players.

“It’s important that we get some work done in training, as we can’t shy away from the fact that we’re disappointed to not be playing next weekend (in the final).”