Castleford missed key opportunities and subsequently missed a huge opportunity to defeat the World Champions St Helens.
It means they have lost two games to start the season.
Highlights:
Cas bomb early chance
The Tigers caught St Helens cold, perhaps exploiting the jet lag in the Saints side. A good move down the right released Jake Mamo and it looked like a certain try as he fed the ball back inside for Niall Evalds but the fullback dropped it.
Amazing effort from Percival
Mark Percival was struggling after trapping his leg beneath a tackle. It allowed the Tigers exploit the situation kicking a 40/20 and they looked destined to score through Alex Mellor shortly after who was given an offload in space. But Percival managed to summon the energy to get over and deny the second-row.
Tee Ritson close to debut delight
Ritson was inches away from debut delight as he was given the ball by Konrad Hurrell and he acrobatically dived for the corner but his knee touched the ground outside the pitch before the ball was grounded.
Another Mamo break
Mamo was showing his magic today as made a brilliant break down the edge again tip toeing down the edge but once again the Saints couldn’t translate it to points. The same happened again a few minutes later as he jinked through the heart of the Saints defence but didn’t find Jack Broadbent in support.
Tigers pay the price
A minute after Mamo’s latest break, Saints stretched the Tigers and Jack Welsby showed good strength to power over.
Lomax rips the Tigers to pieces
At the start of the second half an elusive Jonny Lomax spun and weaved his way out of a number of tackles and found Tee Ritson in support to score.
Penalty try
Jack Broadbent was racing towards the line for a try when Jack Welsby got across to stop him however he hit him high and thus a penalty try was awarded but no card was forthcoming.
Welsby and Walsmley combine
A lovely little grubber from Jack Welsby allowed Alex Walmsley to ground and cement St Helens’ control of the game.
Walmsley rampage
That was an important try but his next one was brilliant as he stormed his way through the Castleford defence to get over to secure the win.
Another missed chance for Cas
The Tigers blew another chance as Bureta Faraimo made an intercept and raced away but dived in and grounded the ball at the same time as his elbow touched the touchline.
Talking Points:
Saints sloppy
The Saints were uncharacteristically sloppy today but you could forgive them after their World Club Challenge success just over a week ago. Credit to them for finding touches of class to get them in front and staying in front but their sloppiness opened the door for the Tigers.
Castleford miss chance to beat the Champions
As mentioned, this was the perfect chance for Castleford to beat the World Champions but their own sloppiness, blowing big chances such as Jake Mamo’s three breaks and Bureta Faraimo, ensured that they were unable to get themselves a famous win. It was telling that they never scored a proper try.
Saints squad depth could fire them to another title
Without some key players, the likes of Tee Ritson, Jon Bennison and Joey Lussick played bigger roles in the game and stood up and performed making it appear that the Saints weren’t missing anyone.
Player Ratings:
Castleford Tigers
1 Niall Evalds – 6
5 Bureta Faraimo – 6
3 Jordan Turner – 6
17 Jack Broadbent – 7
21 Jake Mamo – 7
6 Gareth Widdop – 6
7 Jacob Miller – 6
19 Albert Vete – 6
9 Paul McShane – 6
10 George Griffin – 7
11 Kenny Edwards – 6
12 Alex Mellor – 6
8 George Griffin – 6
Substitutes
16 Adam Milner – 6
20 Muizz Mustapha – 7
24 Cain Robb – 7
32 Liam Watts – 6
St Helens
1 Jack Welsby – 8
25 Tee Ritson – 7
23 Konrad Hurrell – 7
4 Mark Percival – 7
5 Jon Bennison – 7
6 Jonny Lomax – 8
7 Lewis Dodd – 7
8 Alex Walmsley – 9
14 Joey Lussick – 7
10 Matty Lees – 7
11 Sione Mata’utia – 7
19 James Bell – 7
13 Morgan Knowles – 7
Substitutes
15 Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook – 7
18 Jake Wingfield – 7
20 Dan Norman – 7
22 Sam Royale – 7