Wigan Warriors, over the past three seasons, have had an era of dominance, and will be looking to continue that trend when they face Hull KR this Saturday in the Grand Final.

Following a lengthy spell under Shaun Wane that included three Super League titles, a change came in 2019 when Adrian Lam took the reigns at the Warriors, and it was always going to be a huge task to take over from someone with such prestige.

Lam failed to win a trophy in his time at the helm, and after three seasons was sacked. In 2022, Wigan needed a change, and decided to take a huge risk – appointing a 38-year-old who had never played rugby league before, in what was a gutsy, but now what will go down as a perfect decision.

Matt Peet made his way through the ranks at Wigan’s as a scholarship coach, before becoming head of youth and eventually becoming Lam’s assistant. He was given the head coach role on a full-time basis ahead of 2022, and won the Challenge Cup in his first season.

The year after, the won the Grand Final against Catalans Dragons, and last year managed to better both of those by winning every trophy available to him, as he became just the second Wigan coach ever to complete the quadruple.

Current assistant coach, and former player under Peet, Tommy Leuluai has been at Wigan for 14 years, in two separate stints, and has seen huge transformations as both a player and coach.

The Warriors legend has given huge credit to the work Peet has done, and believes he is the main reason why the Warriors have had so much success over the past three seasons.

“A lot of credit has to go to Matty and what he’s done,” Leuluai said on The Bench Podcast. “He deserves all the accolades he gets. He’s an incredibly smart man. He’s done it for a while too. I haven’t coached for a long time, and he’s coached for years at different levels, and there’s things you pick up from him just on the paddock and just how he delivers his messages.

“He’s incredibly smart. He’s dedicated. He cares a lot about the players too. The boys love him. They know that he’ll do anything for them.

Leuluai delved into how the Warriors coaching setup currently works, and how Peet allows him and fellow assistant Sean O’Loughlin to work in their respective roles flawlessly.

“Matty leads the whole thing. I look after attack, and Lockers [O’Loughlin] defence, but we don’t just stay in our lanes in that sense. Every single meeting everyone’s chatting…

“I’ve only been in one coaching group so I don’t know [how it’s done elsewhere], but the beauty of it is that we trust between us. There’s trust there and I hear stories about other coaching groups and maybe that’s [different], but it’s never like that with us.

As always when you’re an assistant coach, the question is always asked whether you want to make the transition into being a full-time head coach. Leuluai was asked whether he could see himself as the top coach, but admitted it is something that is not on his mind.

“Not at the moment,” he said. “I don’t think I’d be ready for a head [coach] role, in terms of how I’d like to be ready myself. I feel like there’s so much to learn.

“It’s not something that I’m looking to do or looking for, but I suppose it’s a natural progression, isn’t it? So, we’ll see. At the moment, I feel like I’ve got so much to learn, I wouldn’t feel confident jumping into a role like that.

“I see what Matty [Peet] has to go through and I think, mate!”

Wigan Warriors assistant names one rule he would get rid of in rugby league

The New Zealander was asked by host Jenna Brooks if there was one thing he would like to see less of in the current game, and Leuluai revealed that, if he could, he would change one controversial rule to ensure the game speeds up.

“I’m not a big fan of the captain’s challenge me. I just feel like it’s too slow. It slows down the game too much,” he said.

The captain’s challenge has been a debated topic since it’s inclusion to Super League at the start of the year. The concept was brought over from the NRL, where they have been using it since 2020. Leuluai said that whilst the outcomes of challenge appeals are quicker in Australia, it is still taking too long and kills momentum in matches.

On whether he was a fan of it in the NRL, he said: “A little bit more because it’s a bit quicker in terms of the technology, but I just feel like it’s just slowing down which we’re trying to speed up. So, I’m just not a big fan of the captain’s challenge.”

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