Wigan Warriors half-back Matty Smith says the team want to put right their defeat to St Helens last year and win Saturday’s Grand Final for team-mate Ben Flower.
Flower was sent off in the opening minutes of last year’s showpiece after punching St Helens half-back Lance Hohaia, and was subsequently handed a six-month ban by the RFL. As for the Grand Final, the Saints went onto win it and deny Wigan a second straight Super League title.
And Smith paid credit to how Flower has come back from his ban, and says they want to help him put right the wrongs from last year.
“People make mistakes in life,” Smith said. “We’re not perfect and he held his hands up and said he made a mistake in the Grand Final last year.
“I think the courage and bravery he has shown, especially when it first happened, to come back the way he has and to play the way he has this year, shows his character.
“He’s a fantastic player and he’s a great bloke as well. He’s a great dad to his little boy and he spoke about that last Thursday and how he wanted to get back to a Grand Final and win it. You could see his determination for that first try.
“We obviously want to get a victory on Saturday, not only for ourselves and family and everyone involved with the club, but for him as well, to put that wrong right.
“He deserves it. He’s put up with some stuff over the course of the year. He’s our mate at the end of the day, we don’t want to see a team-mate as down as he was after that Grand Final. There was no talking to him, he was devastated.
“We’re here to put it right on Saturday and he can put that past him. He’s come back a stronger person and a stronger player.”
