Wigan Warriors' common trait in Super League's business end with defensive hallmark hailed
Wigan Warriors are aiming to retain their Super League crown for the third year in a row, which is certainly no mean feat.
The Warriors have enjoyed an unprecedented amount of success in Matt Peet’s tenure as head coach of his hometown club – but it comes through hard work, grit, desire and determination to succeed, and then remain at the top.
The likes of Bevan French and Jai Field get their names in the headlines because of their flashpoints in attack, and deservedly so, but perhaps the biggest hallmark of this dominant Wigan side is their willingness to defend.
So much so, the Warriors have conceded just six tries in their last seven matches en route to Old Trafford – and in their last two Grand Final appearances, they haven’t conceded any tries.
When asked about their defensive record in the business end of the Super League campaigns, Peet replied: “We’ve been building for four seasons, and I do think there is a common trait at the backend of the year where our defence tightens up.”
However, Peet and his side are constantly striving to improve and get better, even though they are a dominant force, with the Warriors boss highlighting they should have prevented Robbie Mulhern’s try for Leigh in Wigan’s 18-6 victory in the semi-final on Friday.
“We should have stopped that try tonight,” Peet continued. “There are more difficult ones that we’ve saved, so that’ll be one of the first things the players talk about.
"But it still comes down to the hard work the lads do on the training field and the love and connection between the lads. I think they just want to turn up for one another.”
Meanwhile, there is no doubting Wigan’s capability when it comes to attack, either. With the likes of French, Field, Harry Smith, Brad O’Neill, Kruise Leeming and Kaide Ellis at the heart of their attack, the Warriors have racked up an average of 29 points in each Super League game this year.
In their win over Leigh on, there was plenty of loose ball, which the Warriors capitalised on, with the dynamic duo of French and Field coming to the fore.
"I do think it’s a strength of ours,” Peet said on making the most of the loose ball with their free-flowing attacking shape. “At the start of the year, we focused very much on getting our attacking structure right and as the year goes on, we want to play more of that instinctive rugby and second-phase stuff.
"We probably didn’t see a big amount of it today, but we do look to turn those opportunities into something.
"Even early on, we were playing with a bit of width – it’s a strength of ours. We’ve got instinctive players, so when we strike that balance between our set shapes and structures and free play, finding our flow and rhythm, I often think that it would be hard to preview us because I think our detail and our shape is good, but I think the hardest is when you’ve got that second and third phase of attack as well.”