‘A coach’s dream’: Matt Peet shares admiration for key man’s qualities following semi-final victory

The 24-year-old England international commanded the field with his in-play kicking and game control, receiving plaudits as Wigan secured their place at Wembley following a 38-6 triumph in Doncaster.

“He was outstanding,” Peet said.

“It’s like a coach’s dream when you’ve got a player on the field who, when you’re thinking we just need to do something, he does it. Whether it’s his last plays or whether it’s the set he decides to execute.

“I think the best thing for a scrum-half in any team is when his team-mates love him.

"He does a lot of the tough stuff, he bends his back and he gets stuck in.”

It was a clinical performance from the reigning Super League champions, who now have the chance to extend their record to 21 wins in the Challenge Cup with the final later in June.

And that ruthlessness was credited to Smith by his head coach, who continued: “He’s put a lot of focus on our set starts following opposition errors and penalties in recent weeks.

“He owns that area of the game for us, we’ve got a spine of players who trust each other, are really well connected and get along on and off the field.

“The spine isn’t a year old yet with Bevan French at half and Kruise just a few months into the club and we’re still working things out.”

Meanwhile, off-season recruit Sam Walters made his long-awaited debut from the interchange bench for the Warriors with prop Liam Byrne having picked up a two-match suspension during the week.

The towering back-rower came on midway through the second half and produced an assist for Jake Wardle’s second try to round off the scoring at the Eco-Power Stadium.

“I always like the thought of Sam on the bench, it gives us a bit of balance because he’s got a bit of versatility,” Peet said.

“It (his debut) wasn’t planned to be this week. I’ve been impressed with him, he’s a very determined player and he’s worked very hard.”