Wigan Warriors boss discusses Bevan French return and Ethan Havard's 'fantastic' form

Bevan French marked his return from injury with a Player of the Match performance, leaving Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet pleased to have him back available.

French marked his comeback with a stunning display, scoring a try and providing four assists as the Warriors claimed a 38-16 win over St Helens at the Brick Community Stadium on Friday night.

The Australian had missed Wigan’s previous three matches with a hamstring injury - his second of the season after being sidelined for three months earlier in the year.

Peet was delighted to see French back in action, having been subbed off on the hour mark to help ease him back in.

“He’s a quality player,” Peet said. “I thought he defended well as well, so it’s good to have him back amongst it.

“He’ll be better for the hit out, 60 minutes, and another week’s training, so it’s good to have him back along with Liam (Marshall), Sam (Walters) and Noah (Hodkinson).”

Despite French’s injury setbacks this season, Peet does not expect to have to carefully manage his workload in the coming weeks.

“Not really, he was fine tonight,” he added.

“I was in two minds (whether to bring him off or not), but a bit like the Brad O’Neill one, I just thought we were better off being safe than sorry.”

Peet also praised prop Ethan Havard, who continued his strong run of form in the middle alongside fellow front-rower Luke Thompson.

“I never know how to answer those things, so I don’t know,” Peet said when asked if Havard goes under the radar.

“I’m sure our supporters understand that they’ve got a good one. To be honest, we can only concern ourselves with what our own supporters think, and people within the club.

“But Ethan is playing fantastically well, him and Thommo, two lead front-rowers, we’ve got two middles playing in the back-row at the moment so they’re having to dig a little bit deeper, which is good for them because I think they both enjoy it.

“I think it brings the best out of both Luke and Ethan when they’re pushed into deeper minutes. I don’t want to do it all year, but it’s probably a strength of ours at the moment, with Kaide (Ellis) and Ollie (Partington) in the back-row.”