St Helens vs Castleford Tigers Prediction: Saints to sign off in style

The regular season of the 2025 Betfred Super League comes to a conclusion on Saturday, with four games including Castleford Tigers' visit to St Helens at 20:00 (live on Sky Sports +).

Saints legend Paul Sculthorpe discusses recent ongoings at the Totally Wicked Stadium - and shares his St Helens vs Castleford Tigers predictions.

It's good to be back writing this column after a week in the US, cycling from Washington DC to New York City for Rugby League Cares.

I was joined by my old Great Britain teammate Adrian Morley and Huddersfield and Leeds star Shaun Lunt on the epic 450-mile challenge, alongside 14 other intrepid riders.

One of those was the Saints doctor from when I signed in 1998 - Dr David Graham. The 71-year-old was an inspiration to everyone, completing every mile with that infamous smile on his face!

Six days after pedalling out of The Nation's Capital, starting at the Lincoln Memorial and passing the White House and Arlington Cemetery, we landed in the Big Apple, having raised almost £60k for the charity.

A massive thank you to all the rugby league community, including many Saints fans, for all their support and donations. It was a thoroughly successful and enjoyable trip.

On the rugby front, and it's fair to say it wasn't a bad couple of weeks to be away!

I caught both games against Wigan and Leigh, which sadly didn't make for great viewing.

Despite making a decent start to the derby, a lack of fundamental skill and discipline cost Saints yet another defeat against one of the top teams.

I fully understood Paul Wellens' team selection, including Jack Welsby's inclusion at loose forward. Without Morgan Knowles and George Delaney he was already light in the pack, and to be honest it’s been proven so many times this year that if Tristan Sailor plays, it needs to be at full-back.

The whole point of his decision was to get Jack in and around the ball as much as possible - and he’s certainly big enough to roll his sleeves up if required.

Forget shirt numbers, it’s about getting your best players on the field and in positions they can do the most damage.

Welsby had the first big impact in the game, putting Deon Cross over for the opening try, and if Saints had won the game it would have been viewed on as a masterstroke.

I’ve had the same conversations regarding England come the Ashes Series at the back end of the year. In certain positions, our best just isn’t good enough to compete with Australia. We need to put the best, fittest and most aggressive players on the field, even if in an unfamiliar position. Then, pick a game plan that suits.

The problem with Saints at the moment is they are not clinical - in attack or defence. I’d even go as far as to say that at times they don’t look hungry enough. Their skill level is not that of a team desperate to win the competition, and when errors are made there’s not a change in tempo to turn things around.

Against Leigh last week they looked second-best for the majority of the game. Watching the opening try, it was a sign of things to come….Welsby backing off, Robertson shooting out of the line and Feldt doing neither. This wasn’t a defensive line that was urgent and connected.

They did at least show guts to get back into the game having gone into the break 12-0 down. Kyle Feldt and Harry Robertson both crossed in the first eight minutes of the second period, taking the score to 12-10.

Unfortunately, three further unanswered tries by Leigh, all by forwards, put the nail in the coffin. For the second one, Edwin Epape walked straight through the Saints defence under the posts, summing up the current mentality and confidence of the team. Continuously giving the ball and field position away with a lack of discipline zaps energy levels - and this is the result.

Now, with fifth place confirmed going into our final game of the Betfred Super League regular season against Castleford on Friday, it's looking like an away trip to Headingley to face Leeds Rhinos in the Elimination Round next Friday or Saturday.

That being said, it could yet be another trip to the Leigh Sports Village if the Leopards miraculously lose to Huddersfield and Leeds beat Wigan. However, the Warriors are still in the race for the League Leaders' Shield, so I expect a big performance from the home side.

Hull KR hold on to top spot by two points and boast a superior points difference to Wigan. They face Warrington at home next and I can't see an upset on the cards.

Wakefield are in the driving seat to take the final play-off place. They take on a Salford side who will be glad to see the end of the 2025 season. I can’t see an upset there either.

Back to the visit of the Tigers at the Totally Wicked Stadium on Friday. I think Wello has to go out and try to win the game in style, continuing to try and get some combinations that will trouble the teams above in the play-offs.

A big boost is the return of skipper Morgan Knowles, who was a huge loss in these two defeats. Morgs will be out to cap a good week, having collected virtually every award at the end-of-season awards ceremony on Tuesday evening. He will be hoping to inspire his team to a good run before leaving for the NRL in the new year.

I’ve no doubt Saints will bounce back with a win. The Tigers play their last game having finished 11th in the table after being humiliated by Wigan last time out.

I'm going for Saints to win by at least 31 points.

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