Wigan Warriors 16 Salford Red Devils 6: Five things we learned

1. Dom Manfredi received the ideal farewell gift from Wigan.

The retired winger walked onto the DW Stadium through a guard of honour and the soundtrack of applause from more than 9,000 fans.

After the match, he posed for a picture with the squad - to chants of 'There's only one Dom Manfredi' from the South Stand - and then had a beer with his team-mates in the dressing room... following an emotional speech from Kris Radlinski (see embedded tweet).

Manfredi, 27, is unsure what he will do next but a highlights reel shown on the big screen before the game served as a reminder of what he has left behind - incredible memories from a bloke who has battled adversity, time and again.

Good luck to him.

2. To the game, and this wasn't one you'd rush to watch back.

The opening half was tepid and largely uninspiring, lit up by tries by Sam Halsall and his counterpart, ex-Warrior Joe Burgess.

Goal-kicking has long been an issue for Wigan but Harry Smith's boot put Wigan in front with three penalties and from that position the home side did, at least, finish strong.

There was mitigation for a clunky display, with seven changes to a team which played just five days earlier - and it was their fourth game in two weeks.

But a fifth victory in six matches marks a decent return for Adrian Lam's side, ahead of a trip to Hull KR next Friday... and then the visit of St Helens seven days later.

3. Was this John Bateman's best game in a Wigan shirt since his return?

While it wasn't a vintage display from the England forward, he showed enough signs to suggest he's getting back to his best following a slow start which was then cut short by injury while on England duty.

And it was Bateman's vision and strength which chiseled out the match-sealing try for Sam Powell late in the second-half.

4. Jai Field made a welcomed return to action, five months after a nasty hamstring injury on his debut.

The Australian did as well as you'd expect after such a long lay-off but will be much better for the run-out, and here's hoping fans see his scorching pace over the coming weeks.

In truth, when he was rested at half-time, Wigan picked up once Zak Hardaker resumed at full-back and Jackson Hastings moved into his preferred role in the halves.

A tip of the hat, too, to Jake Bibby, who showed some classy centre play at times.

5. Salford coach Richard Marshall admits it could have been a 30-point win for Wigan, had the visitors' defence not been so good.

The Red Devils have some quality players - ex-Warriors Burgess, Dan Sarginson and Lee Mossop among them - and there is no doubting their effort. Their indiscipline and lack of composure, though, has frequently been their undoing and once Wigan edged in front there only looked like one side who was going to win.