Castleford Tigers vs St Helens Prediction: Scully has the Saints to progress

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‘It was a long night’. That was Paul Rowley’s overall assessment of the game against Bradford at the BrewDog Stadium on Saturday night.

I have to agree. But, we have to take into consideration the huge disruption of players, both before and during this fixture.

Already missing Skipper Matty Lees, Welsby, Lomax, Walmsley, Percival…Saints were dealt another long term blow with new signing Jacob Host being carried from the pitch with a broken leg. Fellow signing Nene McDonald also left the field with a leg injury.

Add to that, George Delaney failed a HIA after a high shot by former Saint Eliot Peposhi, who also received his marching orders.

So, there were plenty of reasons for another average performance from the home side.

However, if players are going to pull on the famous RedV, a shirt that demands success…they’ve got to be better than they were. I’m regularly questioning the quality of some of the current playing staff.

Saints started the game quickest, Shane Wright crashing over after 6mins off a short Daryl Clark pass.

Seven minutes later, Bradford levelled the scores via Ethan Ryan. David Klemmer was sin binned for a high shot, which the visitors converted and took the lead on the 20min mark. This was then followed up by another Bulls try after Lewis Murphy was found AWOL in defence.

This scoreline remained 4-10 till half time and the Betfred Super League new boys were growing in confidence.

They had previously beaten both French sides Catalan and Toulouse in the opening three weeks, and only just lost to Hull FC in a game they probably should have won. So, this game was never going to be a pushover, and it was the Bulls that came out of the sheds more energised for the second 40.

Yet, more awful defence from the Saints left edge saw the away side go 80m and extend their lead to 4-16.

Curtis Sironen scored a very similar try to that of Wright in the first half, powering his way over from close range. Hastings converted, 10-16 and it was game on.

When Saints did turn up the quality, they looked like they could score at will, and this is exactly what Tristan Sailor did two minutes later from the scrum. Too quick for a tiring Bradford defence. Again Jacko was on target and the game was level with 30mins to play.

With the Bulls down to 12, the extra man told in the 55th minute when Sailor this time turned provider, floating a lovely pass to a flying Kyle Feldt to dive over in the corner.

Joe Shorrocks was sinbinned for a dive at the knees of a Bradford player, and has been subsequently banned for two matches by the match review panel. This added further headaches to Paul Rowley’s selections.

Castleford Tigers vs St Helens Odds

From the Shorrocks penalty, Bradford marched up field and Andy Ackers spotted a lapse in concentration from Noah Stephens at marker, and found his way over the whitewash to put the Bulls back in front 22-20 with only five to play.

Saints regained field position , and after moving the visitors defence from side to side, Dion Cross powered his way over on the left edge to save the home sides blushes, and secure a far from flattering 26-22 win.

I did mention Noah Stephens earlier, unfortunately for probably the only thing he did wrong! But what a game this kid had on his return to first team action following a pre-season fractured ankle.

I’ve been a fan of Noah since his step up to the senior team in 2025. His no nonsense style of play, with fast leg speed and powerful collisions is a very big asset to the team. With the likes of Lees and Walmsley missing long term, with performances like Saturday he can really take this opportunity to nail down his position.

This week Saints will need another huge performance from the young prop & Co as they travel to Castleford to face the Tigers in the fourth round of the Betfred Challenge Cup.

Ryan Carr’s team currently sit 10th in the Betfred Super League having won only one of their opening four fixtures. However, this is knockout football, and can often bring out a different mindset in teams. Saints are not exactly firing at the moment, and no doubt Cas will have pinpointed the areas to exploit.

I still think despite form and horrendous luck with injuries, Saints will have too much for the Yorkshiremen, and be in the all-important bag for the next round. Saints by 14.