WIGAN WARRIORS coach Matt Peet heaped praise on stand-in captain Harry Smith after another impressive performance and insists the club cannot afford to take him for granted.
With Liam Farrell still out injured, Smith has stepped up as captain and continues to lead the Warriors around the park as they keep putting pressure on league leaders Leeds Rhinos.
Smith once again helped pull the strings – along with Bevan French – as the Warriors defeated Toulouse Olympique 48-18.
The England international also took on goal-kicking duties in the absence of Adam Keighran and converted every one of the eight tries Wigan scored.
Peet said: ”I’ve spoken to him quite a bit recently about how he’s our captain, our scrum-half and at the moment he’s our goal-kicker.
“He’s got a lot to get right but he did across the board with his leadership, game management and goal-kicking.
“It was an excellent performance. Sometimes Harry can go under the radar because he’s so consistent.
“We need to be careful that we don’t take him for granted, including myself, as he’s a really important part of what we do here. I wouldn’t change him for the world.”
Talking about the game, Peet added: “I’m pleased as we posted points and we had to be resilient.
“We defended our goalline for large parts; particularly in the second half we did that really well. We knew that Toulouse would challenge us and they did for the full 80 minutes.
“The scoreline is a pleasing one, we came through healthy, and it’s another two points.”
Peet revealed that he took the opportunity to rest centre Jake Wardle and expects him to return to the team for Saturday’s visit to Odsal to take on Bradford Bulls.