Matt Peet makes honest ‘mistake’ admission on exchange with Willie Peters in documentary clip

Wigan Warriors coach Matt Peet admits he made a ‘mistake’ over his heated exchange with Hull KR counterpart Willie Peters last year – and insists there are no hard feelings between the pair.

The ‘We Are Wigan Warriors’ documentary was premiered on Sky Sports in the build-up to their historic trip to Las Vegas, which captured the words between Peet and Peters on the touchline after Wigan’s 38-6 win over Hull KR in the Challenge Cup semi-final in Doncaster last May. The Warriors went on to secure a record-extending 21st Cup title with a win over Warrington Wolves in the final at Wembley.

After the full-time hooter in the semi-final, Peet jested that Peters and his staff had spent the majority of the game on the sidelines trying to have an impact on the officiating. After the game had finished, Peet told Peters: “Stop crying, you’ve been here all game ranting away.”

The incident escalated, as Peters replied: “I don’t need you f***ing saying stop crying. I’m coming over to congratulate you and say well done.”

Peet then said: “All through the game, all your staff… You’ve let yourselves down,” to which Peters replied: “Worry about yourself mate. You’re killing it, you’re doing a good job and I’ve got respect for you, but don’t f***ing tell me to stop crying.”

Speaking in a reflective piece to camera on the documentary afterwards, Peet said: “I apologised to him at the time and I gave him a call during the week and he was fine about it, he was really good. It’s not something I was proud of.”

Peet was asked about the incident in his weekly press conference on Wednesday, honestly admitting regret over the incident.

“When you decide to let them (the film crews) in you have to take the rough with the smooth,” admitted Peet. “That (incident) was a mistake from me.

“You could take it out and not let everyone else see it but I’d rather people understand that we’re human beings and we’re learning and that was something that probably as soon as I opened my mouth I wish I hadn’t.

“Willie was great afterwards, we had a good conversation and it was emotions running high, so we live and learn.”

Peters was also asked about the exchange in his press conference earlier this week, with the Hull KR boss saying the incident wasn’t common.

“It was a long time ago,” said Peters. “We’re both competitive, there were a few words after the game and Matt, to his credit, called me the week after and we had a good chat on the phone.

“There’s not much in it, two coaches after a game having a chat.

“What happened wasn’t common. It was something that happened that day. Matt said something, I said a few things back and that was it. We shook hands and spoke through the week. We played at Wigan and had a good chat and then the Grand Final.

“I respect Matt. I said that. He’s doing great things at Wigan. It was a long time ago.”

The ‘We Are Wigan Warriors’ documentary has again been shown live on Sky Documentaries this week and is available to watch on demand for anyone who missed it.

Produced by JAM Films, the documentary highlights the club’s historic Grand Slam-winning 2024 season with behind-the-scenes access for the film crew.

Peet added: “Reflecting on it, I really enjoyed the process (of the documentary) and we really enjoyed it because the way the staff at JAM Films and the club presented it to us, with what they wanted to achieve and how they wanted to go about it, you’ve got to put some things to one side and once you decide to commit to that I think you’ve got to go all in.

“We granted them open access and before too long you forgot they were here and they just became part of the team for most of the year. Obviously, it was an interesting year for us and it makes me proud to watch it back, you never like watching the bits back with yourself on - I think everyone has said that, whether it is me or anyone else - you don’t like your own bits and you cringe a little bit to watch it but it was nice to be part of something that we’re really proud of and it’s a good way to reflect on it I suppose.”