Wigan Warriors 6 Castleford Tigers 4: Five things we learned

Five things we learned from Wigan's scrappy 6-4 win against Castleford...

1. It was ugly and Adrian Lam didn't care. Not one bit.

There's a time to turn on the style - and Wigan have proved capable of doing that this season - but at this time of the season and in those conditions, this was all about the two points.

It didn't make much of a dent on the table, nudging them up to eighth. But with the visit of lowly London on Thursday, they could soon be back in the top-half of the ladder - and three successive wins would swell their confidence ahead of a Challenge Cup tie with Warrington.

2. As a spectacle, it was a great advert for scrapping the Easter double fixtures.

The entire occasion fell flat, there was a lack of energy across the park and the awful conditions ruined any chances of this fixture coming alive.

The gate of 10,000-plus presumably including some season ticket holders who stayed dry at home and watched on TV!

3. Sam Powell scored the only try of the game with a close-range effort in the second-half.

And it was fitting he took the glory because the hooker was one of Wigan's better players.

He put in a shift defensively and helped manage the game well.

Thomas Leuluai also excelled at times, while Jake Shorrocks seems to be settling into the halfback role.

4. The over-riding positive for Wigan was their defensive effort.

Castleford weren't at their best - they had a list of absentees - but they had the bulk of possession in the first-half, and the hosts' line held firm.

Lam had asked for a better attitude in defence, and his players certainly responded, showing a fighting spirit which was admirable.

5. Finally, it was good to see Oliver Gildart chalk up his 100th game for his hometown club - an impressive achievement given he is still 22.

He was presented with his shirt before the game by his family, including dad Ian - himself a former player.

Gildart revealed in the week he used to watch footage of Gary Connolly to improve his defence; Connolly was at the game, watching it alongside chairman Ian Lenagan in the directors' box.