Matt Peet hails Wigan Warriors ‘best performance of the season’ as League Leaders’ Shield race blown wide open

Drew Darbyshire 26 Aug 2023 9:54 PM

Matt Peet Wigan Warriors Alamy — Wigan Warriors head coach Matt Peet

Wigan coach Matt Peet said their impressive 34-0 win over Catalans was their ‘best performance of the season’ – but he insists they won’t be getting carried away.

The Warriors produced a clinical and ruthless display to nil Super League leaders Catalans in the south of France on Saturday night.

The win sees Wigan move into second place in the table, ahead of rivals St Helens on points difference and just two points behind Catalans.

Speaking after the game in Perpignan, Peet praised his side’s display but insists they’ll be staying grounded despite the impressive win.

He said: “That was our best performance of the season. We did everything right but we won’t be getting carried away, we haven’t won anything yet.

“But it was good to reward the supporters for their trip to France, I’m sure they will have a good night in Perpignan tonight.

“They spend their hard-earned money coming over here and they deserve to celebrate tonight.

“We’ve had that kind of performance in us all season but for some reason or other it hadn’t clicked.

“But the players can be proud of themselves tonight because they got virtually everything right.”

Abbas Miski hat-trick helps Wigan cruise to victory in France

Lebanon international winger Abbas Miski bagged a hat-trick to help the Warriors claim the two points, along with tries from Toby King, Bevan French and Jake Wardle.

Peet continued: “I like the way we started and I liked the way we finished but you can’t get carried away with big scorelines because you’ll get punished.

“It seems like a heavy scoreline but it really is fine margins. Catalans won’t be happy with their start and whichever team gets control of that period can produce a score like that.

“There isn’t as much difference as it’s suggests, we just had more discipline with the ball, more energy and our kicking game was excellent.

“We were pretty poor last week but we had a pretty intense week of training and talking.

“We don’t want to be an inconsistent team, we have very high standards and it is up to us to maintain the kind of focus we showed tonight.

“If our performances dip we are still very beatable.”

League Leaders’ Shield race blown wide open

The race for the League Leaders’ Shield is well and truly open after Wigan’s win over table toppers Catalans.

The Dragons remain top of the ladder, with Wigan and St Helens chasing their tails: both sitting just two points behind Steve McNamara’s side with four games remaining of the regular season.

A top two finish would guarantee a home semi-final in the play-offs, with the number one ranked side scooping the League Leaders’ Shield.