Matt Peet’s brutal dig at Warrington Wolves’ academy after signing Wigan Warriors youngster Matty Nicholson

Wigan head coach Matt Peet has admitted he is disappointed with Matty Nicholson's decision to leave the club and sign for Warrington, before suggesting it would be 'demoralising' to work for the Wolves' academy in the wake of them signing another Warriors-produced player.

Nicholson has left the DW Stadium to sign a deal with Warrington until the end of the 2025 season. Peet admitted the young forward had mentioned his willingness to play first-team rugby on a regular basis as a reason for his desire to leave the club, and suggested the 18-year-old feels the path to doing that at Warrington is simpler than at Wigan.

The Wigan coach then suggested Nicholson's departure is another feather in the cap of the club's Academy, declaring it to be 'superior' to Warrington's in brutal fashion. Peet said: "I'm really disappointed. He's a good player with massive potential and I'm left scratching my head at his decision.

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"If there's one thing we prove we do here it's give young players a chance. He didn't see it playing out that way, he thinks it's a simpler path to play there at Warrington. When it came to talk about his contract, he did mention it (his first-team minutes).

"I reminded him that he's 18 and his goal at the start of pre-season was to make his debut, which he's done. Ourselves, St Helens and Leeds stand apart in giving young players a chance and there was that chance with Matthew."

Peet continued: "It's another tick at the side of our Academy for producing players. It would be demoralising to work in Warrington's Academy; I keep reading about the strength of it and they're continuously paying for our players. Ellis Longstaff, Sam Storey,