Former Warriors ace Joel Tomkins notes similarities between 2010 champion side and Matt Peet's squad

39-year-old Peet led the Warriors to Old Trafford glory in just his second season in charge of the club, lifting the title for the first time since 2018.

And former winning back-rower Tomkins, now 36, says he can see a resemblance between the coaching philosophies of ex-boss Michael Maguire and Peet, as well as the 2010 squad to the current young champions.

“The best team I ever played in throughout my career was the 2010 team,” Tomkins, who retired in 2021 to become a firefighter, said.

“There are parts of this team now that Wigan have got that have some similarities.

“We had a very young team but with a mixture of some quality experience and I think that’s what they’ve got.

“We had a coach that did things a bit differently, he had different ideas and probably revolutionised the game in this country to be honest in Michael Maguire.

“I think Matty is thinking outside the box. Some of the game plans he’s come up with this season have been unbelievable and he has a hungry, young squad who want to win trophies and I can see some similarities between those two teams.”

Despite an era of dominance predicted by many following the 10-2 triumph over Catalans earlier in October, Tomkins still believes his former club, where he also won the 2011 Challenge Cup and 2017 World Club Challenge, will have to work hard to make it back-to-back triumphs.

He continued: “St Helens have been dominant for a few years and I don’t think they’re quite done yet.

“That era is ending now with James Roby retiring and the guys who have been leading that team for the last few years are coming towards the end of their careers.

“But they’ve also got players like Matty Lees, Mark Percival and Morgan Knowles, and I still think they’re going to be a serious force for the next few years.

“Then obviously you’ve got Catalans, Leeds and then Warrington with Sam Burgess - it’ll be interesting to see how they go.

“I think it’s wide open next year, but for me Wigan will definitely go into the season with favourites.”