Wigan Warriors 28 Leeds Rhinos 10: Five things we learned

1. Bevan French was compared with Wigan's Aussie great John Ferguson after his two stunning tries against Leeds illuminated this encounter.

Ferguson, one of the heroes of the 1985 Challenge Cup Final win, lit up the competition with his acceleration, speed and elusiveness.

Sky Sports pundit and ex-Wigan No.13 Phil Clarke - whose dad Colin coached Ferguson - said: "Thirty five years ago Wigan had a player from Australia called John Ferguson, who could score tries that nobody else in the league could score.

"And Bevan French has that same ability. Whenever you have a player in your side who can do that, you're a dangerous team."

2. The 28-10 scoreline looks comfortable but heading into the last few minutes, Wigan held only a six point lead.

Jake Bibby made the game safe in the 75th minute before French added the crowning glory, latching on to Jackson Hastings' kick to score.

It wasn't a flawless display by any stretch = as to be expected after so long off - but the style and variety of Wigan's tries was impressive.

3. And it wasn't all about the attack.

Wigan have a well-earned reputation for being tough to break down, and they enhanced those credentials with another resolute effort.

They limited Leeds Rhinos to two tries - and the first should have been wiped off as the scorer, Tom Briscoe, had a foot in touch.

Referee Robert Hicks awarded it without consulting the video referee. Time to trial a 'captain's challenge' in Super League, anyone?

4. Wigan and Leeds fans maybe had a snapshot into their future.

Both were missing frontline players, giving the youngsters in both squads a chance to impress - including starting halfbacks Harry Smith and Callum McLennand in place of Thomas Leuluai and Robert Lui respectively.

For Wigan, they had plenty of young forwards such as Joe Shorrocks, Ethan Havard, Liam Byrne and Morgan Smithies - while Joe Greenwood got a recall to the first team.

5. Finally, Wigan paid a special tribute to Rob Burrow in their first competitive match with Leeds since the Rhinos legend was diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

The players were asked to sum up Burrow in one word - which was embroidered onto their shirts, to be auctioned off to raise funds for the former halfback.

Words such as 'unique', 'underdog' and 'inspirational' were stitched into the tops next to Burrow's name. It was a classy touch from the club.