Wigan Warriors coach’s glowing praise for Leeds Rhinos as organisation hailed

Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet praised Leeds Rhinos as an organisation, and delivered a rave review of Brad Arthur’s side ahead of the pair’s first clash in 2026.

The Rhinos make the trip to The Brick Community Stadium sat top of the Super League ladder having lost just twice in the competition so far this term.

Peet’s Warriors side brought an end to their four-game losing run in Super League by beating Bradford Bulls on home soil before thumping rivals St Helens 32-0 in the Challenge Cup semi-finals this weekend.

Friday night’s clash promises to be the most entertaining of the weekend between two of the British game’s most successful clubs historically, and it’s one Peet is relishing.

‘Leeds has always been an outstanding club… they are just a good organisation and we know we’ve got a big test ahead of us.

Leeds reached the Super League play-offs last season, falling at the first hurdle against St Helens, with Hull KR the eventual champions after beating Wigan at Old Trafford.

With plenty of praise for the Rhinos in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Cherry and Whites head coach Peet said: They’re excellent and last year, they were, too.

“Ithink everyone has them in their considerations for all the major finals.

“Since Brad’s been in, you can see that he’s an excellent coach, he brings the best out of the individuals and the team.

“Leeds has always been an outstanding club in terms of the talent they have in the local area, and they recruit good players.

“They are just a good organisation and we know we’ve got a big test ahead of us.”

Leeds have won five games on the spin, and scored 40+ points in the most recent three of those – beating Huddersfield Giants, Catalans Dragons and Wakefield Trinity respectively.

Having not been involved in the Challenge Cup semi-finals last weekend, Friday night’s game marks their first outing in a fortnight.

Peet’s praise continued: “I think they’re a very good team, and they’ll be in the mix at the back end of the year. Whichever way you look at it, it’s an exciting game.

“The main thing is keeping a high standard around the fundamentals of our game, and we’ll find ou flow at some point then with the ball.

“I think that’s something Leeds do really well, priding themselves on their effort areas and physicality, because they’ve got enough talent to win games.”