Matt Peet sings Leeds Rhinos praises as Brad Arthur hailed ahead of clash

Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet has praised counterpart Brad Arthur and his Leeds side ahead of the pair’s Round 27 clash, insisting the Rhinos can ‘challenge anyone’.

In his first full season at the helm of Leeds, Australian Arthur has led them into the Super League play-offs and earned a first home tie since 2017.

That will come next weekend at Headingley against either St Helens, Wakefield Trinity or Hull FC in the eliminator stage, and their opponent will depend on how this weekend’s action plays out.

In the final round of the ‘regular’ season, the Rhinos make the trip to Wigan – whose top-two spot is already guaranteed – while third-placed Leigh host Huddersfield Giants.

Leeds would need to beat the Warriors in their own backyard and see Huddersfield spring a shock at Leigh in order to claim third.

And if that doesn’t happen, it’ll be Saints they face next weekend at Headingley.

Matt Peet sings Leeds Rhinos praises as Brad Arthur hailed ahead of clash

Arthur‘s side have already beaten Wigan once this term, doing so on their own patch back in March with a 12-10 success.

And speaking earlier this week in his pre-match press conference ahead of Friday night’s clash, Warriors head coach Peet had nothing but praise for their opponents.

He said: “I think they’ve been excellent, they’ve done a great job which has been led by Brad (Arthur) but the players have been outstanding.

“I think they’ve got a real good balance in their game, they play an attritional and physical style of rugby, but they’re not boring.

“They’re unpredictable, they’ve got multiple threats, and I think it’s a really well balanced team that Brad’s led.

“They’re a team you’ve seen build throughout the year as well. It was Brad’s first pre-season, so he’ll have instilled a lot of the attitudes and defensive effort-based areas, which have been a constant from them all year.

“They’ve added layers as the season has gone on, they’re tough to break down, and they ask so many questions with the ball.

“They’re certainly a team who’ll challenge anyone they play, I think.”

If results go a certain way, the two sides could yet square off again in the play-offs, either in the semi-finals at The Brick Community Stadium or at Old Trafford in the Grand Final.

Peet added: “Whenever these two clubs meet, you can probably trace it back along several decades, they’re great games.

“There’s great history of both clubs and a lot of respect for Leeds as an organisation, but also in their current guise with Brad leading, I really do like the way they play and the physicality they bring.

“They manage to combine that work ethic and hard-nosed approach, and still play some creative, positive rugby.”