Wigan Warriors boss hails hat-trick hero in milestone match: ‘He was absolutely outstanding’
Liam Marshall celebrates a try for Wigan Warriors - Alamy
Wigan Warriors coach Matt Peet lauded Liam Marshall after the winger scored a hat-trick to help send his hometown club to the Super League Grand Final.
Marshall scored three tries in his 150th appearance for the Warriors as they thrashed Hull KR 42-12 in the Super League semi-finals to set up a Grand Final against Catalans Dragons at Old Trafford next Saturday.
“I thought he was absolutely outstanding,” Peet said of Marshall in his post-match press conference.
“His tries aside, the work he did, his defensive stuff, his carries… I thought it was an excellent performance from Liam and he’s been doing that for us for a while now.
“You get what you deserve, it’s probably what the whole team deserved this week, a lot of work contributes to that performance, players and staff, but Liam is a good example of hard work paying off but there’s a few.”
Warriors boss pleased with returning leader Willie Isa
Peet was delighted to welcome back experienced forward Willie Isa back into his side after a three-month injury lay-off with a pectoral muscle injury.
“His pec is tested and he’s had really high tech testing to make sure that pectoral muscle is stronger than ever,” Peet said.
“As it was an upper body injury his running load has never been in question. He’s been running, he’s fit, his lungs are there and it was a good game from him.”
Matt Peet surprised by manner of win in semi-final
Peet admitted he was pleasantly surprised by the hefty full-time scoreline, praising his side’s effort in both attack and defence.
He added: “Not what you expect from a semi-final in terms of the scoreline. Obviously we’ll take it, we’re pleased but it’s not what we’re prepared for.
“Credit to the lads, they managed to put themselves in that position and we’ve got to take it and move on.
“I thought it was a good start from us, we had the ability to post points. It’s not what we were prepared for, not what I was expecting personally, but a pleasure to watch all the same.”
The Super League Grand Final between Wigan and Catalans will take place at Old Trafford next Saturday, 6pm kick-off.