Castleford Tigers v St Helens was Saturday night’s game in round 2 of Super League and here’s our verdict as the match went on.
Castleford head coach Danny McGuire made two changes to his side that lost 19-18 to Hull KR last week in Golden Point.
Loanee winger Lee Kershaw came straight into the starting line-up, following his move from Rovers.
The Tigers also welcomed back second-rower Alex Mellor, who has bumped Josh Hodson to the bench from the first 13.
St Helens boss Paul Wellens has also made just two changes following their 82-0 victory against Salford in round 1.
Jon Bennsion starts on the wing to replace Lewis Murphy, who will miss the next two months with a hamstring injury.
James Bell drops out of the matchday squad and Agnatius Paasi takes his spot on the bench for the Saints.
St Helens continue to score big as Castleford struggle with last-tackle options
St Helens started off strongly, scoring within the first six minutes. After lots of Saints pressure on Castleford’s tryline, a short pass out wide for Jack Welsby to Joe Batchelor and a Mark Percival conversion gave the Saints a 6-0 lead.
Only four minutes later were they in again with Kyle Feldt showing his strength to score in the corner with a typical finish from him.
A third try followed after two passes out wide to Jon Bennison, who made the break out wide before passing inside to captain Jonny Lomax.
The converted try gave St Helens a 14-0 lead after just fifteen minutes with Percival missing two of the first three conversions.
Castleford were close to getting their first try in the 21st minute but it was ruled out by referee Tom Grant for obstruction.
They had another chance when interchange Sylvester Namo charged down a Daejarn Asi kick, made a break down the middle and a couple of plays later, managed to power his way over.
Namo’s try in the 27th minute and a Tex Hoy conversion brought the game back to 6-14.
Right after the kick-off, Daejarn Asi made a great break again down the middle but chose the wrong option, ending with Innes Senior losing the ball on the next play.
Morgan Knowles went off the pitch for a HIA in the 33rd minute and was replaced by Agnatius Paasi, which he later failed.
St Helens started the second half much like the first, with plenty of attack, with another three tries in quick succession.
Daryl Clark made a storming break down the middle before passing to Lomax, who was ankle-tapped brilliantly by Jeremiah Simbiken.
However, following a penalty, Saints kept pushing forward and Paasi snagged a try in his first appearance of the 2025 season, following a great shift from him and giving them a 20-6 lead after the conversion.
Harry Robertson managed to get his name on the scoresheet just a few minutes later, throwing a brilliant dummy to confuse the Tigers’ defence.
Saints’ attack kept going and Alex Walamsley was soon involved, scoring in typical Walmlsey fashion by battling his way over the line and nabbing his first try of the season.
Robertson got his second and Saint’s seventh of the night after Welsby’s pass out to the right to him, keeping it just long enough to entice the defence before Robertson ran over the tryline.
Welsby got in on the try-scoring action for his first try since July 2024 and his solo effort summed up his superb performance for a 42-6 St Helens lead.
Bennison finished off the scoring for the night getting his first try of the season with another try assist for Welsby to give them a 46-6 win over the Tigers.
Good day for
Saints points difference. In just two games, they’ve managed to score 128 points and conceded just six.
Considering they just made the play-offs in 2024 because of their superior points difference, could that be the reason they go further and make the top 2 in 2025?
Bad day for
Castleford’s defence. On occasion, it didn’t look too bad but that was mostly through solo efforts. They still look disorganised in defence or was it simply that Saints’ attack was just too good?
Their attack didn’t fare much better, often starting a set from their own tryline, choosing the wrong option or knocking on in the red zone. Castleford weren’t bad by any means but there’s still a lot of work to be done for coach Danny McGuire.
However, Tigers fans should be encouraged by their forwards who all put in a solid shift, particularly, Rimbu, Simbiken and Namo.
Star man
Jack Welsby just had one of those games once again. In 2024, he didn’t perform as consistently as we know he can but tonight, it felt like he had a hand in just about every try.
He even made some last-man tackling in defence to save tries so it was another solid, all-round performance from him.
Teams for Castleford Tigers v St Helens
Castleford Tigers:Â Fletcher Rooney, Lee Kershaw, Zac Cini, Sam Wood, Innes Senior, Daejarn Asi, Tex Hoy, George Lawler, Judah Rimbu, Joe Westerman, Jeremiah Simbiken, Alex Mellor, Liam Horne.
Interchanges:Â George Griffin, Josh Hodson, Muizz Mustapha, Sylvester Namo.
St Helens:Â Jack Welsby, Kyle Feldt, Harry Robertson, Mark Percival, Jon Bennison, Tristan Sailor, Jonny Lomax, Alex Walmsley, Daryl Clark, Matty Lees, Curtis Sironen, Joe Batchelor, Morgan Knowles.
Interchanges:Â Matt Whitley, Agnatius Paasi, Jake Wingfield, George Delaney.
Attendance: 7,723
