Wigan Warriors coach praises ‘influential’ Bevan French: ‘He’s developed so much since the player I first met’

Wigan Warriors coach Matt Peet has praised the way Bevan French has turned into an ‘influential leader’ during his time with the club.

The Australian superstar has been one of the standout players in Super League since his arrival at Wigan in 2019, scoring 74 tries in 82 appearances for the Warriors.

French has floated between three positions during his time with Wigan – full-back, wing and half-back – the latter of which he is currently playing in.

“Very impressed with Bevan and how he has adapted his game,” Wigan boss Peet said when asked about French’s flourishing half-back partnership with Harry Smith.

“He never fails to impress when you throw a new task at him, whether it was playing wing, full-back, now in the halves, how he has established himself in our leadership group – I think he’s developed so much since the player I first met five or so years ago.

“He’s a real influential member of our team now and I think him playing in that stand-off role gives him even more importance and influence on our team as a whole.

“He’s always been someone who when he spoke he was very much on the money.

“He has a great understanding of the game, a great understanding of his team-mates.

“He was probably a little bit quiet when he first came over, probably because he was out on the wing and new to the group, but I’ve just seen him grow in influence and maturity and the way he plays the game now is equally as brilliant, but I think he has got a little bit more understanding of the bigger picture these days.”

Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet previews Hull FC clash

The Cherry and Whites are back in action on Friday against Hull FC after a week off due to the Challenge Cup final last Saturday.

“We’re expecting a really tough game,” Peet said. “Their form is up there with anyone in the competition, with the results they put on.

“I think they’ve found their style of play under Tony (Smith) now. It took a bit of time, a slow start, they didn’t get the best players on the field, but since that they’ve had (Jake) Clifford and (Jake) Trueman together and they’ve got some devastating ball carriers, I’m a big fan of Chris Satae and Ligi Sao, so there’s a lot of reasons for us to know we have to be at our best at the weekend.

“Obviously they beat us at their place and beat us in a good manner, so there’s plenty of healthy respect there.”

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