Wigan head coach Matt Peet offered no excuses for his side’s laboured 10-8 win at Castleford, which lifted them top of the Betfred Super League.
The Warriors were far from their best after last weekend’s Challenge Cup final triumph as two tries from wing Liam Marshall secured them a 10th straight win against Castleford and their fourth this season.
The Tigers led 8-4 in the second half after two Rowan Milnes’ penalties and full-back Tex Hoy’s brilliant solo try in the first period. Peet said his side’s Wembley win against Warrington and subsequent celebrations had not been a factor against the spirited Tigers.
“Castleford played really well,” he said. “They were motivated, energised. You could see they freshened up last week, trained hard and were prepared. I thought they gave us a hell of a game. I don’t think last week comes into it at all. We were prepared and ready to go.
“It was a challenging game. It was one where our character got us over the line. We’ve not trained much this week for obvious reasons. We probably had 40 minutes on the field this week, but we train all year together. The fact is we came to a tough place on a tough night and we got the win.”
Marshall’s brace at The Jungle made it 10 tries in four encounters with the Tigers this season, but Peet would not be drawn on his player’s chances of being included in England’s squad for the clash in France later this month.
Peet added: “I never really like commenting on the England squad because Shaun Wane has got enough people telling him what to do. Liam’s been in the mix before, he’s in good form, but there’s some good wingers in Super League. There’s a few you could mention who will be in the mix.
“I’m really happy with how he’s playing, both ends of the field. To be considered a top winger these days you’ve got to score tries, but work hard at your own end and chase kicks hard. I think Marshy does all that and more.”
