Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet has explained his thought process regarding Harry Smith’s return to action.
The England international has overcome wrist surgery to be back fit for the season opener against Castleford Tigers, which they won 26-16.
Smith didn’t have a starring role, but his efforts were more than good enough to earn the praise of his boss.
The half-back featured for the first hour, and was then replaced by Jack Farrimond for the final 20 minutes.
“I knew I had a couple of options,” said Peet. “Jack could cover any of our spine positions, but if we thought we were in good shape, that was Harry’s first game back, and I had a chance to protect him.
“I thought he was very good. Defensively sound. Our last plays, and wherever we finished our sets were pretty good all day, and he was a large part of that.”
Wigan Warriors boss gives verdict on Castleford Tigers victory
Analysing the game as a whole, Peet was relatively happy with how Wigan performed.
“I’m pleased with the result,“ he explained. “The performance, in terms of… the major areas we wanted to be good at, I thought we were pretty good.
“Castleford certainly tested us, because we knew they would. We had to come out the other side of a tough test.
“I know there was a couple of tries conceded at the end, but for large parts, I thought defensively we were very good against a team that’s going to get better with the ball.
“They certainly asked questions, and on the Castleford pitch, you always feel like you’re defending your own line for large parts, which is a test.”
Wigan will host Hull FC next week, in their first home game of the 2026 campaign.
As happy as Peet is, there are plenty of things that Wigan need to fix if they are to get a result.
Their discipline is the main one. With only a 70% completion rate and 14 errors, the Warriors put out a performance that was acceptable in round one, but they must improve those stats as the season progresses.
