Wigan left Wollongong shaking their heads while Hull FC were licking their wounds.
But the bumper turnout for the first Super League game played outside of Europe reinforced why both sides will leave Australia with no regrets about their bold early-season sojourn to the southern hemisphere.
A crowd of 12,416 filled WIN Stadium on Saturday to watch Wigan record a scrappy 24-10 victory over an injury-hit Hull FC.
While the crowd was mostly made up of English expats and tourists, importantly, the attendance was larger than that of all three meetings between the two sides in England last year.
Both teams came to Australia keen to spread the gospel and felt they had somewhat achieved that task.
The match itself was hardly a flattering advertisement for the Super League.
Wigan were downright wasteful with the ball and coach Shaun Wane was critical after they bombed at least five chances.
Oliver Gildart blew a golden opportunity in the first half while Liam Marshall's dropped ball as he fielded the kick-off after his opening try was well below first-grade standard.
Asked if he thought the game was a good exhibition for Super League, Wane said: "No, we could have played better. Our game management could have been better.
"But I think you saw some much better things than last time we came over against the Roosters (during the 2014 World Club Challenge).
"We're going to walk out and make sure we have a decent game against South Sydney."
Wigan will now take on the Rabbitohs in an exhibition match at ANZ Stadium next weekend as part of a double header which will also see Hull FC play St George Illawarra.
Hull FC paid a hefty toll with hooker Danny Houghton (torn calf), winger Bureta Faraimo (concussion), back-rower Mark Minichiello (ankle), centre Jake Connor (PCL) and Liam Watts (hamstring) all suffering worrying injuries.
Prop Masimbaashe Matongo was also a late withdrawal because of a foot infection and their depth looks set to be tested on this tour.
"Some young blokes are going to get more minutes than they probably anticipated," Hull FC coach Lee Radford said of Saturday's Dragons clash.
"In the long run, hopefully it does their careers good."
