When Mark Sykes emerged from the tunnel around 30 minutes after the full-time whistle at the DW Stadium, he was grimacing and walking gingerly as he made his way to be interviewed.
With an initial fear he had picked up a knock in the game, Sykes was not in fact injured, but completely and utterly exhausted from running that channel for 90 minutes in temperatures that topped 30 degrees in Wigan.
Perhaps the heat was the reason why the game was far from a classic. A scrappy affair that produced its fair share of niggles and handbags which kept us entertained away from the lack of quality that was being served up by both sides.
