Wigan Warriors head coach Matt Peet was full of praise for Super League debutant Noah Hodkinson after the win over York Knights.
Hodkinson, 20, scored the try that put Wigan in front but his performance was so much more than that in Wigan’s 23-22 win, with the young full-back assisting Wigan’s opener and coping very well under the high ball.
It wasn’t an easy game for him to debut in either with York racing into a 14-0 lead, something that Wigan boss Matt Peet noted when he showered the visitors in credit when speaking post-match on Sky Sports.
“I think York deserve a lot of credit,” Peet said, adding: “They tested us and they exposed us a few times. They were very tough. They scrambled fantastically well, and they made us work hard for everything that we got, which we thought we would.
“I liked the way that we reacted. I thought at the start, our discipline let us down, and we struggled to contain York’s backfield. Second half, on the ball, I thought we were better but we have plenty to work on.
“We’re not at our clinical best. We’re far from slick with the ball, but there was a lot to admire in terms of courage and commitment, and I thought Noah (Hodkinson) typified that.”
Wigan Warriors boss hails young duo
Having mentioned Hodkinson in his initial thoughts, Peet was asked further about the young back as well as teammate Jack Farrimond who assisted Adam Keighran’s try.
Peet hailed both spine players, stating: “Some of the scramble defensive efforts that they made as well, some of the kicks they dived on, Jack (Farrimond) made a couple of good scramble tackles.
“We know that these lads are going to get targeted by teams, that’s the nature of the sport, every team looking for where you can expose. We’ve got two young lads in there, but they’re going to be all the better for the experience, and I just love the way they’re attacking it on a daily basis.”
With Wigan far from their best and made to work very hard, Peet explained it as just part of the highs and lows of a season though he did note discontent with one first-half try.
He said: “You’ve just got to understand the nature of the season. We won’t all be optimum all the time, whatever the reason, and the important thing is that when you do get tested, you show resolve.
“At terms in the first half, I thought we were a little bit off, a little bit weak, and one of the tries particularly doesn’t sit right with us, but we’ve come home from it great.”
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