MATT Peet found himself sweating after guiding Wigan to an awesome foursome of trophies, even though he was as far from rugby league as you could get. Super League, Challenge Cup, World Club Challenge and League Leaders’ Shield success saw the Warriors named Team of the Year at the Sports Personality of the Year awards. He only lost out on the Coach of the Year to Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, who guided Olympic gold medallist Keely Hodgkinson at the same Robin Park base. But there was no time to feel like he had made it, he was soon feeling the heat – on holiday in Vietnam. And in the cold, dark days of winter, the temperature is being turned up on his players who must move forward or find themselves overtaken as lessons were learned in losses. “There’s no rugby league there,” Peet said about Vietnam. “It was perfect and a good chance to take stock and put the ball to one side. “And we’ve looked back on the season in a lot of detail, looking back at where we learned our lessons. Some of the tough periods we went through, some of the defeats we had. “We delved into what we learned from them, what we can double down on and improve. “If we even think about standing still, we won’t win any more trophies, we won’t win any more big games. Everyone in Super League’s working hard to improve - that’s where the fun comes for players and coaches.” Hearing a quadruple winner talk about improvements may seem strange and beg the question ‘How does a team that won everything improve?’ But Peet knows the early campaign will be crucial as he added: “It’s really simple, we just keep trying to learn. “At the back end of last season, we were just hitting our straps. “We’re far from a team that feels settled. We feel like we can hit the ground running and have plenty of improvement left in us. “We know what works for us but we’re always identifying certain areas in which we can add, change or evolve.” Wigan's title defence begins with Thursday's season opening Battle of the Borough against neighbours Leigh. But a huge part of their early 2025 is the historic clash against Warrington in Las Vegas on March 1, the biggest thing in the sport since moving to summer. Already head of performance Tom Fitzpatrick and head of partnerships Rebecca Webb have been Stateside to find out what America can do for them and what they can do for America, on and off the field. And while admitting hooker Brad O’Neill will not make the trip as he recovers from a serious knee injury that ended his 2024 campaign, Peet knows staying top of the tree will be harder again as the competition gets stronger. “I don’t see why not,” he told SunSport. “Everyone has spoken in the last few years about how level and competitive it’s been and Wakefield are going to come and add another strong squad to it. “Catalans and Leeds are going through a refresh and every other club seems like it's investing, that all bodes for a strong year.”