Matt Peet’s ‘fall on your sword’ message after Wigan Warriors vindication

Matt Peet said he’d rather ‘fall on his sword’ and continue to trust Wigan Warriors’ homegrown talent than change the club’s current model, but admitted it is becoming increasingly difficult to do.

The Warriors advanced to another Challenge Cup Final after thrashing local rivals St Helens 32-0, and they did so with nine homegrown players in their side.

Two of them, Jack Farrimond and Noah Hodkinson, were particularly exceptional in the game, while the Warriors have already handed out a string of first-team debuts this season amid injury issues.

Peet made it clear that he did not agree with St Helens’ differing approach after they brought in players on one-week loans to play them on Good Friday, with Hull KR’s Bill Leyland scoring two decisive tries in that game. Peet said he felt Saints had lost their identity in his post-match interview with the BBC.

When asked about the club’s youth, he said: “It’s becoming more and more challenging, we know the situation with the cap and the NRL clubs. We’ve lost players in past years we didn’t want to but we just couldn’t keep them.

“You know they’re good ones but you can’t do anything about it. There’s no real reward in the cap for doing it. That’s the challenge we face and it will become harder and harder to do it. The quota went up in a wiff waff last year, there wasn’t much discussion around that, so you don’t blame clubs for doing it, but I’d rather fall on my sword, to be honest.”

On Farrimond and Hodkinson, Peet said: “You can’t play young players and expect consistent brilliance. You’ve got to trust them and coach them and be patient with them and support them and hope that when the big games come around, lessons that have been built through the season stand them in good stead. Noah was outstanding, but you forget about Zach, Junior, Brad. It’s good when it pays off.

“I said to him (Hodkinson) at half-time, ‘Why have I not played you before now?’. It seems obvious now looking at it, but he’s a fullback, never played on the wing, it’s a leap of faith. But that’s what we need to keep doing, trusting the young players and putting them in because they tend to deliver. Even when they don’t get it perfect, their application and effort, the way they represent the club, it’s something the supporters can be proud of.

“It feels like a big moment for the pair of them. Jack in particular, he’s had some tough ones. The changing room after Good Friday wasn’t pleasant for us and it wasn’t pleasant for Jack, I’m sure people have put the boot in. But he’s kept his head down, kept working hard, he’s got a good family around him and you get days like today.

“There’ll be more bumps in the road, that’s our job isn’t it? A support and challenge system. When it goes well and you win, it’s great but let’s be honest, if nobody did it where we get our players from in Super League? You’re either one of the clubs who is about that or you’re not.”