St Helens 36-16 Castleford Tigers: Super League leaders underline title credentials at Anfield
By Marc Bazeley at Anfield
Last Updated: 27/05/19 2:36pm
Lachlan Coote produced another stand-out display as St Helens rounded off the Magic Weekend at Anfield by easing to a 36-16 victory over Castleford Tigers.
Four tries inside the first 22 minutes helped the Super League table-toppers into a commanding lead, although their progress was checked when James Roby was sin-binned with 10 minutes to go until half-time.
There was no way back for Castleford, though, as St Helens further underlined their title credentials, with Coote - who scored one try, set two up and kicked four conversions - playing a starring role.
The win means they stay six points clear of the chasing pack, with Warrington Wolves having briefly cut the deficit to four after beating Wigan Warriors on day one of the Magic Weekend.
The Tigers were in the ascendancy early on, forcing a drop-out on their first set on the back of a surging run down the right from Greg Minikin. Nevertheless, Saints' defensive resolve came to the fore and they were soon able to turn the tables.
An interception from Kevin Naiqama saw the centre break nearly 60 metres and although he was tackled before he could get to the line, the league leaders kept play going for Theo Fages and Coote to work the ball out to Makinson for the opening try on eight minutes.
Then when another Castleford attack was thwarted, St Helens advanced swiftly up field and added to their tally when Zeb Taia set up Grace to apply the finish out on the left on the quarter-hour mark.
Three minutes later, Saints were in again. Alex Walmsley took the ball up and then a trademark mazy run out of dummy-half from the returning Roby led to him setting up support-runner Jonny Lomax for a try which Coote converted.
By now Justin Holbrook's side were threatening to cut loose and it was not long before they added a fourth try, with full-back Coote setting up and converting Theo Fages' try, despite Cheyse Blair's best efforts to stop the Frenchman getting over the line.
That put St Helens 20 points up with 22 minutes on the clock, but they suffered a setback eight minutes later when influential hooker Roby was sin-binned for foul play while making a tackle.
The Tigers hit back immediately when Grant Millington collected a kick from Jake Trueman and raced in under the posts for a try - the score being confirmed by the video referee - which was converted by Peter Mata'utia.
Despite temporarily having a one-man advantage, Castleford were unable to make any further inroads during the half and went in trailing 20-6 when the hooter sounded.
And when play resumed, it was first blood to St Helens on 47 minutes as they gained two repeat sets following a knock-on and a penalty, leading to Joseph Paolo setting up Jack Ashworth to score under the posts and give Coote a simple conversion.
Castleford, by contrast, were limited to a few rare attacking forays and found the Saints defence a tough nut to crack. Their opponents were also happy to take a patient approach and that paid off on the hour when Taia set up Scotland international Coote for another converted try.
Naiqama added a bit of gloss to the win with an acrobatic finish for an unconverted try wide on the right 13 minutes from after being set up by stand-off Lomax, although the Tigers did at least manage to finish with a flourish thanks to late consolation tries from Chris Clarkson and Greg Eden.
Match reaction
Man of the match Jonny Lomax hailed the team's performance as St Helens overcame Castleford Tigers at Anfield in the final game of the Magic Weekend
St Helens head coach Justin Holbrook was impressed with what he saw from his team in the 36-16 win.
Castleford head coach Daryl Powell conceded his side were no match for St Helens on the day.
