'He was brilliant' - Wigan Warriors boss hails Adam Keighran and lauds bench impact in York Knights win
Wigan Warriors coach Matt Peet was full of praise for Adam Keighran following a ‘brilliant’ display in their one-point win over York Knights.
The Cherry and Whites maintained their 100 per cent start to 2026 as they came from being 14-0 down against Super League’s newly-promoted side York Knights to claim a 23-22 win at the Brick Community Stadium on Thursday evening.
Keighran has been a standout performer for Wigan in the early rounds and delivered another strong showing against York, making eight carries and 16 tackles, while scoring a try and kicking three goals.
"I thought he was brilliant on both sides of the ball,” Peet said post-match. “I thought his attack and defence were physical, intelligent, skilful… He’s a good player.”
Meanwhile, Peet also praised the impact of Patrick Mago and Ollie Partington, both of whom made a notable impact when they entered the action during the period when Wigan were trailing in the first half.
When asked about Mago’s impact, Peet replied: “We needed it at that time, didn’t we? He came on at the same time as Ollie P and he has got that capability, so he did some good things for us, changed the momentum of the game, and that’s what you want from your bench. Having different threats and a different style of play can certainly change a game up, and I thought Paddy offered that point of difference through that second quarter.
“We knew that was going to be an important phase of the game from looking at York’s other results, so I thought Paddy and Ollie P gave us a real spark through there.”
Peet had named 11 academy graduates in his 17-man matchday line-up, including a potential debutant in Nathan Lowe, who didn’t end up getting on the field, given the nature of how the game played out.
"I’m gutted I couldn’t get Nathan on,” Peet continued. “When we were seven up, I was about to get him on, and then we conceded, so that’s probably the only downside on the night really."
The Warriors have run with an outside-back on the bench in consecutive weeks, with Peet explaining the selection calls amid the absences of Bevan French (hamstring), Jai Field (appendix) and Jake Wardle (knee).
"Your bench does two things, doesn’t it?” Peet explained. “There’s an impact on the game and then covering what could happen.
"I mentioned last week that when Liam Farrell is in the back-row for us, he has always got that option to move into the centres, and then you can move someone else out onto the wing, but we’ve lost a bit of that flexibility in our team – the same with Bevan, he is someone who fits a few positions.
"I won’t go with a back every week but you know some of your players who are carrying knocks sometimes into games and carrying illness, and then there is what the other team might bring, so I just thought it made sense this week and it was probably the call at the moment, how we go in that direction, whether it’s nine cover, forward cover or an outside-back.”