ST HELENS 40 CASTLEFORD TIGERS 0
KASEY SMITH, Totally Wicked Stadium, Friday
ST HELENS cruised to a comfortable and convincing win over Super League strugglers Castleford, who were always on the back foot.
The Saints had been on a good run of form before Leigh got the better of them a fortnight ago, but they gained a perfect response as they put a poor Castleford side to the sword.
The Tigers have had some unusual results this year – coming close against Wigan, defeating Hull FC, and securing a shock win over Warrington last weekend. However, they’ve also had some shockers, such as the loss against the rock-bottom Red Devils.
Unfortunately for the small pocket of Castleford supporters that made the journey over, this was one of the poorer ones for the side sat tenth.
Interim head coach Chris Chester handed Andy Djeukessi a debut on the wing, having praised the emerging talent in the club’s youth ranks in the lead-up to the game. However, his first involvement was to fumble a high kick, which led to the opening try.
There were no signs of complacency from Saints; from the very first set, they made their intentions clear.
A better-timed Tristan Sailor pass may have seen them open the scoring in the first minute. It mattered not, as they broke the deadlock shortly after, and firmly commanded the game from that point onward.
The opener came in the sixth minute, after the Djeukessi knock-on, and it was Moses Mbye who timed a pass perfectly to Mark Percival who shot through the line like a bullet to score.
Paul Wellens’ men found joy once more, this time on the left edge, and it was Sailor with some instinctive play as he chipped one to the line and Owen Dagnall was on hand to finish in the corner.
The fullback was at the heart of the action once again, and he showed his class in dummying a pass and engaging Fletcher Rooney before handing off to Kyle Feldt who did the rest.
Joe Stimson, caught half-asleep, spilled a routine pass from Joe Westerman – an error which opened the door for Daryl Clark to work his magic directly from the scrum, slicing through a glaring gap in the Tigers’ defence to notch Saints’ fourth try.
And on the stroke of half-time, a poor Chris Atkin kick landed straight into Harry Robertson’s grasp and the youngster took off and ran the length of the field, skilfully eluding Djeukessi and Rooney to grab his tenth league try of the season.
The only slight blemish on the Saints’ performance was their inability to fully replicate their first-half intensity after the break. However, securing a defensive shut-out will undoubtedly be the aspect that most pleased boss Wellens.
In an uneventful second half, the Saints only sparked into life late on when Dagnall burst through. His kick to the line looked to be overcooked, but as the ball held up in the in-goal area, the winger pounced for his second try.
Then came an Agnatius Paasi line-break, rewarding the onrushing Sailor for his earlier work with a simple try under the posts and wrapping up a win ahead of a sterner test next week at Wakefield.
GAMESTAR: Tristan Sailor delivered a flawless performance, consistently troubling the Castleford defence.
GAMEBREAKER: Daryl Clark’s try, scored from the scrum, set Saints well on their way for the two points.
HIGHLIGHT REEL: The opening try which saw Mark Percival rip through was a class move.
ALBERT GOLDTHORPE POINTS
3 pts Tristan Sailor (St Helens)
2 pts Mark Percival (St Helens)
1 pt Owen Dagnall (St Helens)
MATCHFACTS
SAINTS
6 Tristan Sailor
2 Kyle Feldt
26 Harry Robertson
4 Mark Percival
30 Owen Dagnall
7 Jonny Lomax
14 Moses Mbye
8 Alex Walmsley
9 Daryl Clark
10 Matty Lees
11 Curtis Sironen
16 Matt Whitley
13 Morgan Knowles
Subs (all used)
17 Agnatius Paasi
18 Jake Wingfield
19 George Delaney
23 Jake Burns
18th man (not used)
27 George Whitby
Also in 21-man squad
12 Joe Batchelor
27 George Whitby
31 Leon Cowen
Tries: Percival (6), Dagnall (10, 69), Feldt (21), Clark (29), Robertson (38), Sailor (71)
Goals: Feldt 6/7
TIGERS
23 Fletcher Rooney
24 Josh Simm
3 Zac Cini
22 Louis Senior
44 Andy Djeukessi (D)
6 Daejarn Asi
42 Chris Atkin
38 Brad Singleton
10 George Lawler
41 Tom Amone
43 Joe Stimson
12 Alex Mellor
13 Joe Westerman
Subs (all used)
4 Sam Wood
15 George Griffin
16 Cain Robb
19 Sam Hall
18th man (not used)
20 Muizz Mustapha
Also in 21-man squad
7 Rowan Milnes
26 George Hill
27 Jenson Windley
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 10-0, 16-0, 22-0, 28-0; 34-0, 40-0
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Saints: Tristan Sailor; Tigers: Daejarn Asi
Penalty count: 2-1
Half-time: 28-0
Referee: Aaron Moore