Matt Peet 'disappointed' with disciplinary following defeat to Leeds Rhinos: ‘We all need to be better’
Head coach Matt Peet admits he was ‘disappointed’ with Wigan’s disciplinary following the 30-4 defeat to Leeds Rhinos, and refused to use his side’s hectic fixture list as an excuse.
The Cherry & Whites conceded nine penalties at Headingley Stadium in a poor display, as the Warriors struggled to get into the game following Harry Newman’s opening try on 17 minutes.
Lachlan Miller, James McDonnell and Rhyse Martin also crossed for the hosts, with the Rhinos back-rower converting seven from as many attempts, with three of those coming from penalties.
Adam Keighran was sent to the sin-bin midway through the second half for ‘repeated incidents’ following a high shot on Martin, while half-back Harry Smith was sent off in the final minutes for his second effort on James Bentley.
“I was disappointed by our discipline,” Peet said.
“Not looking at one particular incident, I just thought in general, and a few penalties were things we didn’t need to do.
“We just all need to be better, without getting caught up in one incident too much.
“I haven’t seen it back (Smith’s red card), but we can certainly be better across our discipline throughout the game, but particularly that second half.”
The game also saw a tactical change before the break, with Ryan Hampshire hooked, centre Keighran moved to stand-off and Zach Eckersley introduced to the action from the interchange bench.
But the Warriors still only managed their only points of the game through a consolation try from Liam Marshall on 73 minutes.
“It was a tactical change,” Peet admitted.
“I thought we needed to be better on that right hand side on both sides of the ball and I tried to inject Zach into the game.”
Saturday’s fixture marked Wigan’s third game in 10 days following the rearranged Round 2 Leigh Leopards clash, but Peet refused to use the challenging period as an excuse.
He continued: “We were well beaten. In the end, Leeds were by far the better team.
“I thought it started off as a pretty even encounter, probably until the first try. Then, I thought we never really got going after that.
“Leeds were excellent and troubled us with the ball, particularly in the second half.
"I thought they were by far the better team and credit to them.”