Matt Peet delivers verdict on Wigan Warriors' win over Bradford Bulls - 'Proud of the performance'
Wigan Warriors coach Matt Peet said he was ‘proud’ of his side’s performance as they booked their place in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals thanks to a dominant 30-6 win over Bradford Bulls.
The Warriors were 20-0 to the good through first-half efforts from Luke Thompson, Zach Eckersley and Liam Marshall, along with four goals from Adam Keighran, who added a second-half try before Bradford pulled one back through Ethan Ryan.
Wigan had the last say on the game, though, thanks to debutant Dayon Sambou, who scored from an intercept to see the Warriors through to the quarter-finals with a 30-6 victory at the Brick Community Stadium.
“I’m pleased to be in the next round and pleased with quite a lot of our performance,” said Peet.
"I thought we looked organised and connected defensively against a team who play a good style. For large parts, I thought we looked in good shape.
"I’m proud of the performance, two lads making their debut in Noah (Hodkinson) and Dayon was a real bonus for us, so it was a good night’s work.”
Last week, Peet’s side had to overcome illness in camp to get the win over Toulouse Olympique in the south of France. They had to do the same again this week, with star man Bevan French ruled out for around four months with a hamstring injury – but it did not seem to faze the team.
"Although we had those changes, we didn’t have a lot of time on the training field because we were late back from France, so I was impressed,” Peet continued.
"We knew what we wanted to build our game around tonight, and we committed to the plan that the players are heavily involved in coming up with.
"We probably didn’t move the ball as much as we have been doing, but it was the right game plan for the right fixture.”
Influential forward Kaide Ellis left the action in the first half and did not return, whilst winger Zach Eckersley seemed to pick up a knock in the second half – but Peet confirmed both were fine in his post-match press conference.
"Kaide has had a little bit of illness this week, so once I brought him off, I had a chat with him at half-time and said I’d probably try to keep it that way,” Peet explained. “It’s not an injury, he was just a bit low on energy due to a bit of illness. I think it’s doing the rounds, so hopefully we can leave it behind now.
"Zach’s alright, I think it was just an impact. I did triple check it because I was going to bring Adam (Keighran) off towards the end, and I could’ve changed that, but Zach’s alright.”
Meanwhile, Peet shared praise for hooker Brad O’Neill, who delivered another 80-minute display and had a number of key involvements on both sides of the ball.
"I thought Brad was good – he has been good recently,” Peet added. “He is in a good place at the moment, physically and mentally. He has got a good, balanced lifestyle, and he is enjoying his rugby, so hopefully it continues for quite a while now.”