Everything Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet said on Bevan French, injuries, George Hirst transfer and Noah Hodkinson
Wigan Warriors coach Matt Peet met with the media in his weekly press conference ahead of Friday night’s fourth round Challenge Cup tie against Bradford Bulls at the Brick Community Stadium.
The Warriors boss was asked about last week’s win over Toulouse Olympique, the blow to Bevan French, the number of injuries across Super League currently, George Hirst’s permanent transfer to Castleford Tigers and homegrown talent Noah Hodkinson. Here is a rundown of everything Peet said in his pre-match presser.
Reflecting back on last week’s 36-16 win over Toulouse Olympique, how did the debrief go?
"I was pleased with the performance. It’s always a challenge to go over to France and play with the travel and whatnot. I thought we rode that pretty well. The start was excellent, and Toulouse asked us some questions. I thought they unpicked us a few times, which I think we’ll learn from, and I think there’ll be some important lessons for us moving forward. There was a little bit going on behind the scenes with the squad as well, just in terms of illness, so I was just pleased to see us come out the other side of it and get the opportunity to refresh now.”
Wigan have only conceded seven tries in their first four games of the Super League season… Are you pleased with how your side is going about their business in defence?
"Aspects, yeah. When you look at those seven tries, there are a few which we aren’t pleased about, so there’s plenty in us yet – we will always be defensive first here. That’s what we’ll look at and take satisfaction from. We’ve made a decent start, but there were a couple of tries that don’t sit right.”
Bevan French will be out of action for around four months now with his hamstring injury… You’ve made a really good start to the season, so how important is it to not let these injuries derail your campaign?
"I just think it’s part of the course when you look across the league. That’s why I think no teams get carried away when they’re playing well and try to keep on track when these periods hit, because that is the nature of the sport and the nature of a Super League season. It’s why you have your squads and your academy. I think we all enter seasons knowing you are going to get things like this along the way, and it’s how well you can endure them, I suppose.
"I think we have a responsibility to perform regardless, whichever players are missing. If Harry (Smith) was missing, it would be a similar sort of conversation, Jake Wardle’s out, so those players through every team’s spine, you do most of your practice with them in it and you offer opportunities to rotate in practice, but it’s not the same as playing regularly together, so where I do take confidence is Jack (Farrimond) is older and more mature, and has got combination time under his belt. You look at what St Helens, Hull and Huddersfield are putting up with, Leigh the same, we played them, and they were missing talent the other week, so you don’t get your best team every week, all year. It’s just the nature of a Super League season – it’s never something you would choose, it’s always a challenge, but it’s a welcome challenge and particularly here, we take a lot of pride in our youngsters being ready to go.”
A lot is being made of Super League’s fullback ‘curse’ at the moment, given the number of injuries across the competition. Do you think there’s a particular reason for this, or is it just a complete coincidence?
"Every club will be able to do the same thing. You could talk about every single injury in detail. You look at Jai Field, he’s had his appendix out, Will Pryce was in a contact, Bevan was on the floor, and someone fell on him. Bevan’s running metres, high speed and metres per minute were no higher than they’ve been in lots of games he’s played in, and you could go on. The Cas fullback, Blake Taaffe, against us, there was no one near him, and it was Round One. These scientific studies, they’re alright way after when looking back, but I think this one is just a bit of freak coincidence, and there doesn’t seem to be a real trend for me so far between the nature of the injuries, particularly those fullbacks we talk about. Bailey Hodgson looked innocuous, so if I’m forgetting any there that look really similar, but that’s just me thinking off the top of my head.”
George Hirst has made a permanent move to Castleford this week… Is that a move that just made sense for all parties?
"Yeah – ideal for everybody really. George has been a quality member of the environment here since he came. We saw something in him when he was playing in League One, and he came here and worked hard, but I didn’t see him getting an opportunity here, so it was just about getting him facilitated with the best loan move to play at the highest level possible for him and he’s made a positive impression, so his move to Castleford suits everyone, and most importantly, George. It’s probably not exactly what he wanted when we signed him, but I’m sure he’ll see his time here as an important period for his progression, and he can go and prove himself now at Castleford.”
We wouldn’t expect you to name your fullback for this weekend, but there are a few options you could choose from. Young fullback Noah Hodkinson could potentially make his first-team debut, so can you just tell us a little bit about him?
"I remember seeing Noah play when he was around 13 at Hindley – headguard on, very instinctive player, broken field runner, and I think he played a bit of centre back then as well. He is a good broken-field runner, and beating people comes very natural to Noah. Being in an environment like ours, he’s learned the role of fullback, and he’s learned it very well. He has played a lot of games with some of the lads I mentioned like Jack – they’ve played hundreds of games together – and he is just a tough kid, plenty to like about him, unassuming, so he’s been one we’ve earmarked for an opportunity for some time, but obviously he’s had a bit of quality in front of him.”
A number of Wigan youngsters have spent time on loan at Salford so far this season… Is that going to be a recurring theme when there are weeks without reserve games?
"I don’t see why not. John Duffy (reserves and transition coach) manages that relationship. I think quite a few are sending players to Salford, Halifax and these clubs, and it serves us well. I think we’d all agree that, ideally, we’d have a reserves competition where you had an intense game every week, and Wigan players could play against other Super League teams in their jerseys and with the coaches present, but Salford presented a good opportunity. I watched their game at the weekend, and our lads got some good experience. Dayon Sambou, in particular, was outstanding, and it’s a tough school to go and play in the Championship, so I do think it serves them well.”
Adam Keighran was sin-binned in the first two games of the season but has performed really well since then… Are you pleased with his response?
"To be honest, even those games, I know the flashpoints took the attention, but he has been excellent all season. He is a quality player, and we continue to try to keep his concentration on his tackle technique. We’ve got to keep working at that, but as far as his form is concerned, I think he’s been excellent.”