Wigan Warriors chief compares Las Vegas to Barcelona ahead of Warrington Wolves face-off

Warrington Wolves boss Burgess was unable to travel with his squad to Vegas last Sunday after his application was held up, before being cleared to travel to the United States.

Peet has huge respect for the former South Sydney Rabbitohs star, saying: “I thought Sam did an unbelievable job last season. He transformed Warrington and I think we all thought he’d have a positive impact.

“But just how quickly he did it – you could clearly see Warrington’s players playing with a smile on their faces. They’ve got great talent, so you combine with his leadership and he led them really well.

“When a club has not had success for a few years, they’re desperate for it. It’s not like they haven’t been trying hard – it would be foolish to think that.

“The players want success more than anyone and I think Sam led them really well. He did a remarkable job and I think it was underrated.”

Burgess enjoys legendary status down under and Peet added: “That’s another thing that Sam deserves credit for. He’s a great ambassador for Super League, being a proud Englishman, and he went to Australia as a player and took the NRL by storm.

“Now he’s doing really well as a coach but he’s a proud Englishman and I think he’s quite unapologetic about that. Like I say, he’s just a great person to have leading Warrington.”

Peet has already achieved remarkable success with the Warriors but downing Warrington in Sin City would be another huge feather in his cap.

He was there at the Nou Camp in Barcelona in May 2019 when Adrian Lam’s Wigan side lost to Catalans Dragons.

Peet remembered: “I went along but I wasn’t coaching hands on. It was literally my first week so I went along with Lammy to get to know everybody and observe.

“It was a massive event but, because I wasn’t involved in the build-up, I hadn’t given it loads of thought. It came out of nowhere but you could see how much it meant to the supporters.

“It probably meant more to Catalans followers that day unfortunately. I think Wigan and Warrington have got similar motivation in that we want to put on a show for Super League this weekend.

“We both hope it’s a great game but we’ll also both be saying that we want to look back with fondness - players and supporters - that we need to win the game.

“In some areas I think we’re aligned in terms of driving the game forward off the field. We try to do things differently and Kris and Karl have a good relationship – as a club Warrington are always very respectful and hopefully they feel the same about us.

“A lot of people have been involved in both camps over the years. Fitzy (Karl Fitzpartrick, CEO) is a Wigan lad, as are Stef Ratchford and George (Williams)...they’ve got a lot of Wiganers there. They’re friends really so I think we share ideas and want the best for Super League – not just our own clubs.”