Wigan Warriors coach makes dig at Leeds Rhinos man after post-match scuffle

Wigan Warriors head coach Matt Peet gave his verdict after he watched his side lose 12-10 at Headingley against Leeds Rhinos with the Cherry and Whites boss taking a dig at Rhinos centre Harry Newman.

It was a tight and tense affair at Headingley and a scuffle erupted at the final hooter and Wigan coach Matt Peet has now commented on that spat between Leeds’ Harry Newman and the Warriors’ Harry Smith.

Asked about it in his post-match press conference, Peet said: “Some players you’re not surprised when they’re involved in incidents. I don’t think anyone will be surprised to see…

“Some players carry on when they win and some don’t. Normally players who win a lot don’t.”

You can see the incident in the attached tweet below from Sky Sports Rugby League with the cameras picking up some of the action, although it is unclear what sparked it.

In such a historic fixture between two huge sides who were both reeling after being knocked out of the Challenge Cup, and on a day full of emotion given that it was Ryan Hall’s 500th career game, it was somewhat of a surprise it took until the final hooter for emotions to boil over.

Tensions flare at full-time as Leeds Rhinos get a huge result against Wigan Warriors 👀 pic.twitter.com/BTd1Hw6c0j

— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) March 22, 2025

Wigan Warriors boss speaks on “pride” after Leeds Rhinos loss

Whilst Peet picked out that incident in his post-match press conference with the media, he was far more reserved in his  assessment of the game when he spoke on Sky Sports’ coverage.

Asked what his resounding feelings from the game were, he responded: “Pride. I thought we defended, particularly in the second half, like a Wigan team.

“It was a high-quality game and there’s things we’ll look back on on both sides of the ball that we can do better but there was a lot to like in terms of young players and their commitment and endeavour.

“I was generally proud of the performance.”

A key reason for that pride was the number of young players in the squad with Zach Eckersley covering for Adam Keighran, Jack Farrimond parachuted into the halves following Jai Field’s injury, and a late call-up for winger Jacob Douglas after Abbas Miski suffered an injury in the warm up.

On those young talents, Peet said: “They rolled up their sleeves, they were committed, they grew into the game as it went on, probably once the nerves settled and unfortunately we don’t get the result, but we shouldn’t let that detract from some of the good things, and also the things that we need to improve.”

Matt Peet explains what Wigan Warriors lacked versus Leeds

A huge result for Leeds Rhinos against Wigan Warriors at Headingley 🦏 pic.twitter.com/K1eyDt0wYh

— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) March 22, 2025

Losing players of such quality is always going to harm a team and Peet conceded that his side did lack composure, something that saw them unable to break through Leeds’ defence for large periods.

He explained: “I think in the second half we lacked a bit of composure with the ball when opportunities did present themselves. We weren’t as fluent as we can be and there will be moments we’ll look back on and rue but that shouldn’t take away from Leeds scrambling defence either.

“Our attitude and commitment was great, defensively we were better in the second half, first half we were probably a little bit passive but when we got ball in good areas we probably needed to be a little bit more settled and composed.”

After two consecutive losses, Wigan now move forwards into Round Six to host Salford Red Devils where they’ll be hoping for a response.