Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet lifts lid on Grand Final preparations and talks Hull KR and Willie Peters

Wigan Warriors will be facing off against a Hull KR side that have improved as a team and organisation over the last 12 months. That’s the opinion of Matt Peet, whose side take on the Robins for the second straight year at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The Cherry and Whites won last time around, with a Bevan French try giving them a 9-2 win over the East Yorkshire outfit and the same outcome this time around would spell a three-peat for the Warriors. However, since 2024’s showpiece event, KR have gone out and won everything available to them.

They picked up the Challenge Cup in June, ending their 40-year trophy drought, and followed that up by pipping Wigan to the League Leaders’ Shield last month.

As such, it’s hard not to say that KR have been the best side in Super League this calendar year and Peet believes the strides Rovers have made this year can only be good for the competition.

Wigan Warriors boss hails Hull KR progress

“Quality team, excellent coach,” Peet said when asked for his thoughts on Rovers. “You can see that he gets the best out of his team and I think the way they’ve recruited, the way they’ve improved players and the way and learnt along the way, they’ve improved as an organisation, not just a team. Strong leadership, investment, it’s great for Super League.

“I think they’re a good team and they were a good team last year, they’ll be determined and a high quality team as they’ve shown all year.”

Asked if last year’s result could have a psychological impact on either team heading into Saturday’s clash, Peet added: “No, I don’t think so.”

Having won the last two Super League titles, Wigan know how best to prepare for a Grand Final and last year, they had the luxury of a visit from Sir Alex Ferguson. Peet remained tight lipped when asked if there would be another guest speaker this year, but he did lift the lid on how his side would prepare for the clash on Saturday evening.

“A large part of it,” he added when asked if he would try to replicate last year’s successful preparation. “You’re always trying to freshen things up and do things a little bit differently.

“There’s a temptation when you win to keep everything the same and when you lose you can thing everything was wrong. We try and strike a balance.”

Serious About Rugby League has launched a brand new podcast which can be watched in full on our YouTube channel here.