BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Wigan Warriors head coach Matty Peet says his team was “second-best all year” last year and needs to improve in 2026.
Wigan surrendered its crown as reigning Super League champions, after winning back-to-back grand finals in 2023 and 2023, with a loss to Hull KR in the decider at Old Trafford in 2025. The Warriors also finished second to the Robins in the battle for the League Leader’s Shield.
Reflecting on last year’s campaign, Peet told rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads: “We’ve moved on now. Like when you have a winning finish to the season, you break it all down and look where you’ve done Ok, and look when there’s room for improvement.
“I suppose when you do lose the last game, everything’s probably looked at with a bit more intensity and certainly the players bring a different mindset when you end on a disappointment, which is natural.
“But one thing we’ve been pretty consistent with over the years is not overreacting to wins or losses.
“Remaining consistent in how we go about things… We certainly were second-best all year, really, so we obviously need to improve.”
Wigan started the 2025 season with an extra-time golden point loss to Leigh at home, before battering Warrington in Las Vegas. They suffered a shock Challenge Cup quarter-final loss at the hands of Hull FC, before rebounding to finish second on the ladder and get to Old Trafford.
Peet explains that he believes the Warriors were second-best throughout the whole season, and not just in the grand final itself.
“I wasn’t reacting just on the grand final in that, we were second-best… I don’t think there were sustained periods throughout the year where we were where we want to be,” he said.
“It felt like we were building and sort of headed in the right direction, but ultimately we fell short.
“I’d rather look at the fact that we weren’t good, or we weren’t where we wanted to be… If we’d led from the front all year, and been outstanding and played to our potential all year and not quite won the final, then I think you’d maybe have a point [that we weren’t far off].
“But I don’t think that’s the case. I don’t think we ever felt like we played the rugby we want to play for a sustained period. So it’s important that we unpick why and build it back up.”
Squad change has been minimal in the off-season at the Warriors with only six players departing, with two on season-long loans, and four new players signed. Dayon Sambou and Jonny Vaughan have arrived from St Helens, with Oliver Wilson joining from Huddersfield and Finn McMillan coming in from Barrow Raiders.
Peet says improvement does not need to come from his roster in 2026, but in the area of defence.
“I know it’s not personnel, I think it’s just all the things you would normally look at,” he said.
“Our structures and systems, they’re always under the microscope. We will always look at where we can be better.
“And the fact is, we don’t have the best defence in the competition. And generally, the team that finishes top has the best defence in the competition, so that’s a clear area we want to work on.
“But that’s normally the case, you want to improve your defence. I certainly think that’s an area. Obviously we want to have our first-choice team on the field more often, so that’s something we can look into.
“But also being better prepared for when the squad is tested.
“I feel like our young players just being a year older, the likes of Jack Farrimond, Sam Eseh and Zack Eckersley, I feel like they’ve come back and they look that year older physically and also emotionally.
“I think we’re in good shape.”