2022 Season Review: Wigan Warriors

[josie andrews]

Matt Peet had been a Betfred Super League head coach for less than eight months when he lifted his first piece of silverware.

The appointment of Peet - who had filled a host of other roles at the club during an extensive coaching apprenticeship - was met with raised eyebrows from some outside the club, given his lack of experience in a leading role.

But behind closed doors at the DW Stadium there was total confidence that they had got the right man, and that was repaid when Peet helped his side lift the Challenge Cup at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium by beating Huddersfield Giants in late May.

It wasn't just the impact that Peet had on what had been a misfiring team in 2021 that impressed - he gained admirers from other supporters with his openness, honesty and humility in media interviews, never more so than when joining the BBC panel just minutes after lifting the trophy.

He also instilled a renewed focus in reconnecting with the Wigan community from day one, something which has been a revelation for Warriors fans.

But ultimately, Peet will be judged on what happens on the field, and he certainly delivered on that front in 2022, despite his sides Play-Offs exit against Leeds.

The major positive for the new coach was having attacking guns Jai Field and Bevan French fit and firing, and both delivered, producing a host of memorable moments over the course of the season.

It started with four straight wins before a brief stumble at Catalans, which didn't faze the new boss.

"It's highlighted where we are at as a group," Peet reflected back then. "It's important that we stick together as a group and look to attack the next stage of the season."

They certainly did that.

The Warriors conceded just one try in cup wins over Salford and Wakefield, and although they lost in the league to rivals St Helens on Good Friday, when the two met again in the cup semi-final at Elland Road, it was a different outcome.

Tries from Liam Marshall, Cade Cust and Liam Farrell swept Wigan into a 14-0 lead, but more impressively when the inevitable Saints fightback saw them fall behind, Marshall came up with the match winner 10 minutes from the end.

It would be Marshall who was the hero again in London against the Giants, securing the club's first Challenge Cup triumph since 2013.

"He's good under pressure, he's got good instincts and his speed is excellent, but for me it's just rewards," Peet said of Marshall.

"If you look at his career, as someone who was so slight as a junior player, the only player in his team who didn't get on scholarships, constantly looked too small to get to the next level and that resilience and toughness is what has kept him in the game when others weren't."

Marshall certainly wasn't the only player to thrive under Peet as Wigan then backed up their cup win by securing a top two finish, losing just four times between then and the end of the league campaign.

The headlines were written mainly by French and Field, who provided the Warriors with an attack that could strike literally from anywhere on the pitch, and often did.

Both players earned Dream Team selection alongside the ever consistent Liam Farrell, who made more metres than any other second rower in the competition to go alongside being his team's top tackler.

Elsewhere in the side, Harry Smith recaptured the kind of form that labelled him as one of the best young half-back's in the game at the start of his career, and new recruit Cade Cust and the evergreen Tommy Leuluai provided quality influences alongside him.

Morgan Smithies, Liam Byrne and Brad Singleton were members of an industrious set of forwards that paid the platform up front, while the Round 26 game at Hull KR offered an insight into the next generation of talented young Warriors pushing for a first team spot.

"There's no doubt some of the lads you've seen will be regulars in the next two or three years," Peet reflected afterwards.

The Wigan coach and his squad look well placed to continue their development in coming years.

KEY MAN

Jai Field earned a Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel nomination after a thrilling campaign when he lit up the competition. The full-back's Wigan career had effectively been put on hold by serious injury, but he more than made up for lost time in 2022.

The former St George Illawarra and Parramatta Eels flier scored a host of spectacular tries and formed a formidable partnership with the equally deadly Bevan French.

RISING STAR
Kai Pearce-Paul saw his year disrupted by a mid-season injury, but either side enhanced his growing reputation with a series of mature performances. Whether playing at centre or in the back row, the London Broncos academy graduate provided a constant threat to opposition defences, both with his significant physical presence and his slight of hand. He looks well set for a big future in the game.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT
No contest - Liam Marshall's dramatic winning try in the Betfred Challenge Cup final win over Huddersfield. With just three minutes remaining, Marshall touched down Harry Smith's kick to seal the win.

A series of photographs captured the sheer joy of both players and supporters in the immediate aftermath; a moment that ended a nine-year cup drought for a club used to being associated with silverware.

KEY STATS

Top try scorer

Bevan French (31)

Top metre maker

Jai Field (3,233)

Top tackler

Liam Farrell (626)

Most assists

Jai Field (24)

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