Saint Helens - now officially the 'Best Team in the World' after last week's World Club Challenge win over Penrith Panthers Down Under – got down to Super League business in Castleford Tigers' Wheldon Road stadium the Jungle.

What effect the trip to Sydney and back, plus the match against the Australian Premiers, would have on the team was the big question.

One obvious effect was the absence of stand-out hooker James Roby, replaced by new signing Darcy Lussick.

The Tigers went into the tie with a new half-back pairing for the season in Gareth Widdop and former Wakefield scrum half Jacob Miller. 

Coach Lee Radford had also changed his three-quarter lin with Mahe Fonua and Suaia Matagi turning out for Halifax in the championship on dual registration.

But would they go one better than the second half fight back, which saw them end last weekend's tie with Hull FC just two points behind after a first-half shellacking.

Castleford had first use of the ball and Jake Mamo broke down the left touchline - but Niall Evalds dropped his pass inside. But he made soon up for it, dealing easily with the high kick that ended the Saints set and hooker McShane promptly kicked a 40-20 for Cas to start their next set some eighteen metres from the visitors' line, only to be undone by a try saving tackle.

On 10 minutes it was Cas's turn to make a try-saving defence as Tee Ritson dived for the line and seemed to ground the ball while in the air. But a second look by the video ref showed that his knee hit the ground in touch before the ball was grounded in goal.

As the half neared the 20 minute mark, the Saints team found their feet, stopping Cas chances and making their own own opportunities in the Tigers' 20m zone. But the stand-out takeaway from the game were the mistakes by both teams.

Morgan Knowles found himself confronted by three defenders as he ran into to Cas red zone. His pass sideways found Jack Welsby facing empty space in front of him and dived over to open the scoring with twenty-five minutes showing on the clock.

Mark Percival made no mistake with the kick and Saints had a 6-0 lead. The visitors spent the rest of the half playing near the Cas line. But they couldn't improve that score, thanks to a mixture of an improved Tigers defence over last week, and mistakes from the attackers.

The half was characterised by mistakes by both sides, summed by one statistic: in the first period Mamo made four clean breaks – but each one ended up with with an attempted pass that resulted in a handling error and a lost ball. The Tigers were theri won worst enemy.

The players went into the sheds with Saints six points ahead - the winner likely to be the team who managed to cut out the errors and completed their sets with points or at least territory to set up the next set.

The opening plays of the second half saw both teams go set for set, until Tee Ritson scored his first Super League try off a pass from Lomax, who had received the ball from Konrad Hurrell. Percival kicked the conversion for a 0-12 score.

The Tigers showed signs of responding with a try of their own from Jack Broadbent, back on the field in place of Mamo. 

Then a Welsby high tackle stopped Broadbent. Referee Liam Moore had no doubt that - at one metre from the try line, he would have crossed without the illegal tackle and he awarded a penalty try. Griffin's kick in front of the posts moved the score to 6-12, narrowing the margin.

Saints moved to press the Cas line in response and when Alex Walmsley got his hands on a Welsby kick, he dived under the posts. Welsby's kick restored Saints' 12-point lead at 6-18.

With less than 10 minutes to go, Walmsley went on the charge to cross the line again for a 22-6 lead, which Percival improved to 24-6.

In a final twist, Bureta Faraimo grabbed an interception and raced along the touchline and grounded the ball in goal - only for the video referee to rule that he did so at the same time as his elbow hit the touchline, so no try.

That was the last meaningful action, and the four-times champions answered the question over whether they could double up after their trip down under.

Castleford showed hints of improvement, but clearly need more time to gel after the changes, and left questions over whether they've come out of pre-season fully prepared for the ask ahead.

Castleford Tigers: Evalds; Mamo, Turner, Broadbent (PT), Faraimo; Widdop, Miller; Griffin (G), McShane, Vete, Edwards, Mellor, Lawler. Substitutes: Milner, Mustapha, Robb, Watts.

St Helens: Welsby (T), Ritson (T), Hurrell, Percival (3G), Bennison, Lomax (G), Dodd; Walmsley (2T), Lussick, Lees, Mata'utia, Bell, Knowles. Substitutes: McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Wingfield, Norman, Royle. 

Full Time: 6-24.

Half Time: 0-6.

Score progression: 0-4, 0-6 : HT : 0-10, 4-10, 6-10 (PT) 6-12, 6-16, 6-18, 6-22, 6-24 : FT.

Lead: St Helens.

Referee: Liam Moore.

Venue: The Jungle, Wheldon Road.