Fresh from thrashing the Leeds Rhinos last weekend St Helens were back on home turf for an ninth round fixture against the Castleford Tigers. Castleford needed to get back on the bike after they themselves were on the receiving end of a beating from the Catalans Dragons and coach Powell would expect much more of his troops against the defending Champions.
A Saints win would put them on the top of the pile but a win for Castleford would also lift them level with the three leaders on ten points in a congested top of the table. Saints were massive favourites with the bookies and the Tigers had been given a sixteen point start on the coupon.
No-one but the most fervent of Castleford fans could see beyond a Saints win, and few believed that the Tigers could win their first league match in St Helens for forty years.
Saints didn’t have it all their own way in the opening exchanges and Michael Shenton went closest on twenty when he just failed to ground as Tommy Makinson tried to shepherd the ball dead.
Kyle Amor was held up on his back over the line on the half hour mark, Matty Lees suffered the same fate three minutes later. Amor was stopped just short as Saints bombarded the Tigers line, but the defence held firm.
Jonny Lomax dropped the ball under great Tigers pressure with seconds left of the first half clock and as the hooter sounded the sides were locked at 0-0 at the interval. It had been a herculean defensive effort from a much improved Castleford but they’d had their chances too.
Lomax took a big hit from Grant Millington on forty-seven and referee James Child interprested it as a shoulder charge and sent him for a ten minute rest. Lachlan Coote immediately called for the kicking tee and kicked the first points of the game from thirty-five metres.
After interference at the play the ball, Coote kicked his second penalty from ten metres to double the lead to 4-0 after fifty-five.
As the game passed the hour mark, and the Tigers returned to thirteen players, the game was still anyones.
Shenton grounded the ball over the dead ball line on seventy-four as he chased a kick through and a minute later Regan Grace was held up on his back over the line to deny Saints what looked like a certain try.
Saints finally sealed the win on seventy-seven when Walmsey offloaded lachlan Coote who in turn found Theo Fages to scamper in under the sticks to complete a seventy metre team try. Coote added the conversion for 10-0, a hard working win for Saints which sends them back to the top of the table. Another defeat for the Tigers, despite an enormous improvement to their game and a fantastic defensive effort.
Saints: Coote (3G), Makinson, Naiqama, Percival, Grace, Lomax, Fages (T), Walmsley, Roby, Graham, Taia, Bentley, Knowles. Subs: McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Lees, Amor, Smith.
Tigers: O’Brien, Clare, Shenton, Foster, Olpherts, McShane, Richardson, Watts, Milner, Griffin, Holmes, McMeeken, Massey. Subs: Millington (SB on 47), Sene-Lefao, O.Neill, Turner.
Referee: James Child.
Half-Time: 0-0.
Full-Time: 10-0.
Ground: Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens.
