BOUNCING back from defeat is not something Wigan Warriors have had to do much of recently.
In order to do that, however, their head coach Matt Peet admits they face “a massive challenge” against an in-form and confident Warrington Wolves side.
The Wire have recent history to overturn in that they have lost their past seven games against their neighbours, with the most recent being the heart-breaking Challenge Cup Final loss last month, and the Warriors have a formidable home record having won their past 17 matches at the Brick Community Stadium.
If they can manage it, however, they would move level on points with Wigan at the top of the Super League table.
Peet watched his side slip to a surprising defeat at lowly Hull FC in Round 18 but despite having twice got the better of Wire this year – they edged the reverse Super League fixture by one point against a youthful Warrington team – the Warriors boss is under no illusions about the task facing his side.
“We just know they’re a quality outfit, and I think we saw in the first fixture that they’ve got that strength in depth,” he said.
“It seems that whatever players put on that Warrington shirt this year, play with a real commitment on both sides of the ball. Obviously they’ve got some star talent as well.
“We look forward rather than back, and we know we’ve got a massive challenge ahead of us
“We look at every performance, we look at what we did well but more importantly, we look at where we can be better. The players were obviously disappointed.
“They’re a good team. Every week I feel they’ve been energetic and motivated, so I don’t feel like it’s going to be a case of them raising their game for us.
“They’ve been consistently committed, particularly defensively, and they’ve got some very good players as well.”
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