A four-game winning streak goes on the line when Saints travel to Castleford to take on the Tigers on Friday night (August 25, kick-off 8.00pm).
The champions have had an inconsistent year by their recent standards but seem to be finding that winning habit at just the right time. Paul Wellens’ side are unbeaten in Super League since a home loss to Catalans Dragons in mid-July, a run which sees them vying neck and neck with Wigan for what could be a crucial top two spot heading into the playoffs.
Finishing inside the top two provides the opportunity to play one home game to reach the Grand Final. Contrast that with finishing third which means playing an extra game at home to the team finishing sixth before having to win at the home of one of the top two in order to reach Old Trafford. In a competition which is often rightly accused of lacking jeopardy and high stakes that’s a monumental difference.
The Tigers don’t have to concern themselves with playoff permutations in 2023. They have managed only five wins from their 22 league outings so far, a return which has seen two head coaches ushered through the exit door and which leaves them still embroiled in a relegation fight despite last week’s relieving win at Wakefield.
Charged with steering them through these choppy waters after the departures of Lee Radford and Andy Last is former London Broncos boss Danny Ward. The new man at the helm played 25 times for Cas in 2006 after making his name with Leeds Rhinos. Now he returns to help secure the club’s top flight status. At least until our revered overlords at IMG step in to restructure the pyramid based on the tastiness of the sausage rolls.
Wellens has named the same 21 who were on duty for last week’s 28-6 success over Hull KR. That means that despite having returned to full training this week there is still no place for Konrad Hurrell. Will Hopoate is also still out so expect Mark Percival and Ben Davies to continue to form the centre partnership. Jon Bennison was preferred to Tee Ritson on the wing last week and surely did enough to keep his place opposite automatic selection Tommy Makinson. Jack Welsby operates at fullback with Jonny Lomax and Lewis Dodd in the halves.
The pack is still without Matty Lees who serves the second of a two-game ban for his part in the nonsense which led to Joe Greenwood getting a red card at his former home ground a fortnight ago. With Alex Walmsley and Agnatius Paasi out long term the current prop pairing of choice for Wellens is flourishing teenager George Delaney and regular loose forward Morgan Knowles. The latter picked up a knock in the win over Rovers but is fit enough to take his place in the squad. James Roby keeps on going and going to complete the starting front row while the skipper’s rest periods now see Moses Mbye filling in with increasing effectiveness.
The back row looks stronger now despite the continued absence of Curtis Sironen. Sione Mata’utia and Joe Batchelor should be the starters there with James Bell occupying the 13 role. Sam Royle should make the bench alongside opposition fan irritant Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Dan Norman and Mbye.
Ward has had to make a couple of changes to the 21 who were named ahead of the Wakefield game. Prop Nathan Massey and the versatile Jack Broadbent are out injured so in come front rower Brad Martin and three-quarter Will Tate. The 2021 Steve Prescott Man Of Steel Paul McShane is also out so Papua New Guinean Liam Horne could continue at hooker in between the likely prop pairing of Liam Watts and George Lawler. Charbel Tasipale made a try scoring debut at Wakefield last week and is in line to feature in the second row alongside envelope pushing nuisance Kenny Edwards. Late night bongo movie star Joe Westerman has the job that in a bygone age was known as locking the scrum.
Jordan Turner announced his intention to leave the Tigers this week but for now the former Saint is a key man in the centres. The vastly experienced former international and NRL star Gareth Widdop is the fullback in the continuing absence of Hull KR-bound Niall Evans. Blake Austin’s recent arrival from Leeds surprised everyone including it seems Rhinos coach Rohan Smith. Yet the ex-Warrington man still has plenty of class when he decides to turn it on. His halfback partnership with ex-Trinity man Jacob Miller has the potential to be exciting and a good deal more creative than has been the case down at the Jungle for most of this term. Hull-born Elliot Wallis will hope to start on the wing again opposite last week’s hat-trick hero and try hoovering enigma Greg Eden.
This will be the third meeting between these sides in this campaign. Saints returned triumphant from Sydney as newly crowned world champions to open their league programme with a 24-6 win at the Jungle in February before shutting out the Tigers in a 22-0 stroll at home at the end of June. After it was announced that loop fixtures will continue under the terms of the new TV deal Ward and his men may hope that if they survive the drop they won’t see the name of the four-in-a-row champions on the schedule for a third time in 2024. For the moment they must play the cards they have been dealt.
Yet Saints haven’t always had it their own way at the venue formerly known as Wheldon Road. You only have to go back to April of last year to find the red vee’s last defeat there. They went down 30-10 but it was very much an experimental side chosen by then head coach Kristian Woolf following the side’s Easter weekend exertions. A much stronger Saints selection lost 28-14 on its previous visit in March 2020, the final game before Covid forced the competition to shut down until August of that strange fever dream of a year.
Many Saints fans of a certain age can’t think about trips to Castleford without calling to mind that epic playoff semi-final defeat there in 2017. A Luke Gale drop-goal sealed a famous Tigers win after Saints had hauled themselves off the canvas to lead only to hand Daryl Powell’s Cas a route back in by conceding a penalty for Ryan Morgan’s obstruction on Michael Shenton. Cas fans will remember that more fondly than the Zak Hardaker related shambles which all but scuppered their shot at entering the elite club of Super League Grand Final winners.
Four years later the sides met at Wembley in the Challenge Cup final. On a baking hot day scores from Makinson, Roby, Theo Fages and Kyle Amor helped Saints to their 13th Challenge Cup win and their first since 2008. Eight of that Saints side are in contention to be involved in this week’s clash while only four of the Tigers 17 from that day are in Ward’s selection. All of which may be a good indicator of the sides’ relative fortunes since then.
This is not a Cas side that can afford to even dream of playing in major finals and semi-finals. Survival is the only priority for Ward until he can hopefully shape a more competitive squad in 2024, Even without three front line props Saints should be too strong for a Cas side whose last win before Wakefield last time out was against Warrington all the way back in June. And yes…to reiterate…everybody beats Warrington. Saints by 18.
Squads;
Saints;
1. Jack Welsby, 2. Tommy Makinson, 4. Mark Percival, 5. Jon Bennison, 6. Jonny Lomax, 7. Lewis Dodd, 9. James Roby, 11. Sione Mata’utia, 12. Joe Batchelor, 13. Morgan Knowles, 15. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 19. James Bell, 20. Dan Norman, 21. Ben Davies, 22. Sam Royle, 24. Lewis Baxter, 25. Tee Ritson, 28. Matthew Foster, 30. George Delaney, 34. Wesley Bruines, 35. Moses Mbye.
Castleford Tigers;
2. Greg Eden, 3. Jordan Turner, 6. Gareth Widdop, 7. Jacob Miller, 8. George Lawler, 10. George Griffin, 11. Kenny Edwards, 12. Alex Mellor, 13. Joe Westerman, 23. Suaia Matagi, 25. Brad Martin 26. Elliot Wallis, 28. Sam Hall, 32. Liam Watts, 39. Will Tate, 41. Jordan Johnstone, 42. Alex Foster, 43. Billy Tsikrikas, 44. Charbel Tasipale, 45. Liam Horne, 46. Blake Austin
Referee: Aaron Moore
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