Connect with us

Wigan Warriors

What Matt Peet said after Wigan Warriors’ loss to Leigh Leopards as poor form continues

Wigan Warriors

Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet conceded the best team won on Friday night as his side were edged out by Leigh Leopards. The Warriors have been short of their best for a number of weeks now and the 18-8 loss was their second defeat in three weeks.

Wigan started the game the faster and got over early through Jake Wardle, but that would be their last try in the contest, despite edging the first half and going in at the break 8-0 up. Leigh responded after the break and as they dialled up the intensity and tenacity, Wigan found themselves struggling at times.

Tesi Niu, Edwin Ipape and Owen Trout scored the tries to give Leigh the win that took them up to third until Sunday at least when Leeds Rhinos take on Hull KR. Wigan will be keeping a keen eye on that game, too, knowing that a Rovers win would see them move six points back in the League Leaders’ Shield race.

There’s still 10 games to play, of course, but Wigan are in a hole at present and Peet admits his side have work to do after falling short of expectations.

Matt Peet reacts to Wigan Warriors loss at Leigh Leopards

“I thought it was a good game,” Peet told Sky Sports. “Leigh were the better team.

“We did some good things in the first half but when it swung back Leigh’s way in the second half, outstanding kick chase, and they were better than us in that area, I expect us to more resilient than we were tonight. Credit to Leigh.

“I knew there would be momentum swings but I expect us to weather them better than we did. Even when Leigh went in front, I expected us to show more resilience, there was a few defensive sets there watching back we were very disappointed with.”

Asked if he would have liked to see his side score more points in the first half, Peet added: “It depends how you look at it, you always want more points on the board all the time. You build a game on the back of your defence and you keep doing the right things, you score more points, I think it was more about what we did in the early stages of the second half.”

Of course, Wigan were playing their second game without the presence and attacking might of Bevan French, but Peet refused to point to that injury as an excuse.

“It’s not a matter of replacing it, it’s about being the best version of this team,” he added. “Jack (Farrimond) and Harry (Smith) building combinations, the rest of the team doing things better, some of the things we did tonight Bevan wouldn’t have helped. I’m going to enjoy the challenge and we certainly have some work to do.”

Josh Charnley proves point, League Leaders’ Shield, David Armstrong and Leigh Leopards v Wigan Warriors talking points

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Must See

More in Wigan Warriors