Three wins on the spin for the Tigers
Read our match report as the Tigers claim victory over St Helens!
Castleford Tigers secured their third consecutive victory over the Easter period with a win over a young St Helens line up at The Mend-A-Hose Jungle on Friday night.
There were a couple of milestones in the Castleford squad with Nathan Massey making his 300th career and 250th Super League appearance off the bench, a fantastic achievement for the #ONECLUB man. Also, James Clare started the match at full-back for his 100th run out in his Super League career.
St Helens’ Ben Davies got the contest underway, and the Tigers got off to the perfect start with less than a minute on the clock. Jason Qareqare was given his first start of the campaign and he took the opportunity with both hands as the ball was shifted left to him. The young star took off down the wing and burnt three Saints players for pace to go over in the corner. A stunning try which saw the entire Wheldon Road crowd on their feet! O’Brien couldn’t capitalise from the tee for Cas to have a four-point lead.
The hosts had the momentum behind them early on in the game and an offside given against the Red V allowed the Fords to push further up the field. Cas elected to take the play right on this occasion and it looked like they were in again with Jake Mamo passing wide to Derrell Olpherts, however, unfortunately the #2 was tackled out of play before he could ground the ball.
A Clare knock on after a high boot up the pitch from St Helens presented the visitors with their first piece of meaningful possession near the Cas try line. They looked dangerous shifting the play quickly through the hands with the ball ending up with winger Shay Martyn who made a burst for the corner. Fortunately for Castleford Jake Mamo was alert enough to get across and forced the Saints man over the whitewash.
The Tigers looked to force the play and add a second score with just over 15 minutes gone as they tried their luck on the last with some inventive play. O’Brien fired the ball left to Kenny Edwards who then found Mahe Fonua on the left hand side. The centre decided to take the line on himself, but some good Saints scramble defence stopped the #17 just short.
After keeping Cas at bay, the young Saints side looked to have gained confidence and a six again call boosted their chances 20 metres out but they couldn’t make the most of their opportunity as they spilt forward.
With around 15 minutes of the first half remaining, it looked like the visitors had kept Cas at arm’s length after O’Brien was forced to kick high on the final tackle. Jumah Sambou was underneath it and caught the ball, but it was then dislodged in the tackle and Edwards pounced to reclaim possession for the Tigers. With the ball in hand just a couple of metres away from the try line the Fords put Saints to the sword with Clare finding Olpherts wide right to score by the corner post. O’Brien lined up the conversion but couldn’t add the two points for the scores to read 8-0.
As the match ticked closer to half-time the Tigers were starting to put their stamp on the contest and after absorbing a St Helens attack, they clinched their third try of the evening. Some dancing feet and a lung-busting run down the right from Mamo opened up the space for the #4 to pass back inside to Jake Trueman who cruised home unopposed. Captain Paul McShane took up the kicking duties and made no mistake with his kick to give his side a 14-point advantage.
The Fords finished the half with a flurry with Qareqare almost dotting down by the corner post but was barged out of play for the scoreboard to remain at 14-0 at the interval.
Castleford started the second 40 brightly and after Fonua was blocked from chasing after a Trueman low kick forward, with a penalty putting them in prime position to snatch an early try. The Tigers went looking for their starlet Qareqare with a looping pass powered wide to the winger, he acrobatically leapt for the corner, but his foot touched the line as he went to touch down.
Eventually their pressure did tell ten minutes into the second period with a beautifully crafted move to the right edge and Mamo was the man to time his pass to Olpherts to perfection for the Cas winger to cross for his second of the night. McShane again took on the responsibility from the kicking tee but the England hooker sliced his conversion wide of the posts.
The youthful Saints side got themselves on the scoresheet a minute before the hour mark after a Qareqare fumble from a Davies kick and a six again call saw them put Cas on the back foot. The most experienced player in the St Helens side Kyle Amor attempted to barge over but was held up, however, on the last tackle the away side took their chance with Sambou scoring after receiving an offload out wide. Martyn then hooked his kick wide.
It was a score which boosted the confidence of a very unfamiliar looking Saints line up and they made it back-to-back tries after being gifted possession in Cas territory. Second rower James Bell was hit by a short ball and pirouetted to spin and ground the ball. Martyn was successful with his conversion on this occasion to nudge the Red V within eight points of the lead.
Castleford weren’t fazed by conceding two tries in quick succession as they kept their composure and provided the perfect sucker punch to their opposition. The quick thinking of McShane saw the #9 spot a gap to break through 10 metres out and he managed to shift an offload to Joe Westerman for the loose forward to score his first try since returning to the Club. McShane slotted the conversion for the Fords to reclaim some breathing space.
As the fixture entered the final ten minutes, the greater experience of the Tigers pack started to shine through and on 72 minutes they crossed for the sixth time. Fonua received a pass wide on the left-hand side and stepped inside whilst fending off a number of Saints defenders to smuggle the ball over the line. McShane made no mistake with his conversion for the match to end in a 30 points to 10 victory for the Tigers.
Full-time: Castleford Tigers 30–10 St Helens
Castleford: Clare, Olpherts, Mamo, Fonua, Qareqare, Trueman, O’Brien, Watts, McShane, Griffin, Edwards, Lawler, Westerman
Interchanges: Milner, Massey, Smith, Martin
Tries: Qareqare, Olpherts x2, Trueman, Westerman, Fonua
Goals: O’Brien (0/2), McShane (3/4)
St Helens: Bennsion, Sambou, Simm, Hill, Martyn, Davies, Moss, Amor, Lussick, Norman, Royle, Bell, Wingfield
Interchanges: Baxter, Pemberton, Delaney, Buckley
Tries: Sambou, Bell
Goals: Martyn (1/2)
Golden gamble winning number: 13573