JACK FARRIMOND said he had no nerves whatsoever before his Lance Todd Trophy-winning performance.
The 20-year-old scored two tries and assisted another on his first appearance in a major final before revealing that assistant coach Thomas Leuluai – himself a two-time Challenge Cup winner with Wigan – had reassured him when he arrived at Wembley.
He said: “I had a chat with Tommy when we got here. I said: ‘Is it good I’m not nervous?’ I didn’t know if it was a bad thing, that I was so calm on such a big day.
“But Tommy said it goes one of two ways – you’re either not nervous because you’re confident, or you’re not nervous because you don’t think you can do it.
“I thought about that as soon as we came out, and it played out as it did.”
For all the pre-match talk of Bevan French’s return, Farrimond was the star in French’s stand-off role.
“It’s great having someone as good as Bevan playing in the same position as you,” he said.
“His knowledge of the game is massive. He gives you little pointers on things that you don’t think about at such a young age. He’s pushed me out of my comfort zone.
“In the last few months when Bevan hasn’t been playing, he’s taken it personally to get me as ready as I could be for a game like this.
“So he’s massive, and Harry Smith is as well. To have such a calm head next to you in the heat of the moment is massive for me.”
Farrimond had an army of supporting family and friends at the game, including younger brother Austin – whose Under-12s team he coaches at Leigh Miners Rangers.
He said of coaching: “It’s not quite as stressful (as for Peet), they all do as they’re told and listen to you!
“I just enjoy it. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing it.”
Peet is delighted to see Farrimond – whose father Tom is also a long-serving coach at Leigh Miners – furthering his rugby experience.
“I love him doing that, coaching and thinking about the game,” said Peet.
“He has a very curious mind. He loves Rugby League. He knows everything about the community game.
“I think you can see in the way he plays the game that he’s watched a lot of rugby and been around it his whole life. It makes him very easy to coach.
“I listen to him speak in meetings and come up with ideas for game plans. He’s got a very intelligent rugby brain and it’s our job to encourage that and allow him to shape the team.”