Wigan Warriors’ George Marsden gamble works after Matt Peet’s ‘too defensive’ admission

Matt Peet gave praise to debuting halfback George Marsden after an impressive debut in Wigan Warriors’ win over Bradford Bulls.

The 17-year-old, who doesn’t train with the first-team full-time, was given a starting jersey alongside Jack Farrimond, the youngest halfback pairing the club has had since 1985.

It paid off. Marsden’s introduction allowed other players to featured in their favoured positions, and Wigan looked much more fluid on the ball as a result.

“That was the reason for the decision,” Peet explained. “I have been playing people out of position, maybe a little bit too defensive minded at times and that’s something I reflected on, spoke to the coaches about.

“The fact is, George is very young, he doesn’t train with us, he’s noit full time, so it was a decent decision to make but we certainly looked more fluent.

“It meant two back-rows in the back-row, two centres and centre and almost two wingers. We’ve been wanting to do it for a while to be honest.”

Asked how Marsden took the news he would be debuting, Peet said: “He’s quite unassuming, laughing really. He never looks that excited and he’s just like, ‘yeah, alright’. Everything I spoke to him about all week he was like ‘yeah, I know’.”

Wigan came through the game injury free and with Harry Smith and Sam Walters available for selection next week, the Warriors can now have some continuity in their side.

Asked if that was part of the thinking behind playing Marsden, Peet admitted: “A little bit. But it was never done with overlooking this game. I wasn’t. We wanted to win this week. We needed to win this week, you know so it was. But it was a factor.”

Peet also saved praise for Jack Farrimond as he put in a strong performance, particularly with the boot.

“I think there was more responsibility on Jack to dominate the kicking game this week. That was another reason to put him on the right. I tried flipping him last week, we got our first kick charged down, then I had to move Adam.

“There’s been things like that which haven’t quite clicked for us but I thought Jack kicking and chasing down the right, he defended well for large parts who throw quite a bit at you.

“That’s the thing when you choose to back young players, it’s not just a straight line trajectory of improvement. There are times of tough periods, it’s only been in them, and Jack will be so much better for this period. He’ll get a few kicks along the way but don’t we all? That’s what’s going to make him better. He was good today.”