MATT Peet may be cursing John Bateman’s decision to leave Wigan but he knows there are bigger issues.
Which is why the Warriors will be stepping up their community work to help tackle them.
2022 saw the club regain its relationship with those around it after an ‘us v them’ perception crept in.
It was the biggest part of their year and was almost as important as on-field success.
And the driving force behind it all – home town coach Peet – is ready to take that work to the next level in 2023, by not ducking the larger issues that are prevalent on the Warriors’ doorstep.
He said: “There’s things like homelessness we can help tackle, as well as the financial crisis – a lot of people are struggling financially at the moment.
“There are other things in the community. Levels of knife crime, domestic abuse and other things we speak about that we want to have a positive impact on.
“We want to take on these social issues and not shy away from them as a club.
“We consider ourselves at the centre of this town’s community, so it’s the right thing to do to try and make a difference however we can.
“Whether it be players going out and speaking to certain people or us doing things to raise awareness, anything we can do to try and help the people of the town and its surrounding areas, we’ll do it.
“As long as I’m in the post, that will be fundamental to our programme. It’s as important as anything we do and we’re looking to do it bigger and better.
“Like everything, we’re looking to do it five or 10 per cent better in 2023. Have a bigger impact, affect more people, tackle some bigger issues.
“It’s something we talk about a lot.”
