Wigan Warriors have been knocked out of the Betfred Super League Play-Off Semi-Final following a defeat to Wakefield Trinity. Manager Matt Peet acknowledged that his side were outplayed throughout the match.
Peet's Assessment
Peet reflected on the result by saying: "Well beaten, all ends up. It was an outstanding performance from Wakefield. All the threats we knew they had, they got every facet of their game right, we didn't. Their shape was good, they ran hard, defended tough, and they made us look ordinary, and we're not. Credit to them."
On the performance itself, Peet identified key areas where Wigan fell short. "There's things we'll look at in terms of our physicality, more often than not this game comes back to winning collisions both sides of the ball," he said. "We were just out played to be honest. Once they went a few scores ahead during that period we were down to 12, we started chasing and the game was done."
First Half Analysis
Peet assessed Wigan's first-half performance and how Wakefield responded to the pressure. "It was just a proper game. They weathered the storm pretty well when we had the number and I thought they were the better side of it. Both teams were challenged with a similar thing and they dealt with it better than we did, when they were down and when they were up," he said.
Despite considering adjustments at the break, Peet felt Wakefield's quality prevented Wigan from implementing them. "I was confident if we fixed a few things up the game could swing back our way, but we never did that which is credit to them. There's no shame in admitting we were second best."
Liam Farrell's Final Match
The defeat marked the final Wigan match for long-serving player Liam Farrell. Peet said: "He understands you don't always get the fairy tale ending. I know he's proud of the group, proud of the journey we've been on as a team, and I feel very much the same. It's disappointing, but we lost to a very good team tonight."
Season Reflection
Looking back at the campaign as a whole, Peet expressed pride in how Wigan approached the season. "I will reflect on the season with pride in how we set about it from this time last year. The journey we've been on, the development of players and the team, and then you've got to look at a night where we're second best," he said.
Peet outlined his focus for the future, saying: "You always have areas you want to improve on and off the field, and even if we had played really well tonight and got the win it would have been a very similar process. Seeing what we can do better, where can we improve, and looking at what we didn't get right this week. You can't fix that until you're next in a semi-final. We are always learning, enjoying the journey, and I've got a good group."