It was fourth against fifth in the opening game of the fifth round of the Super 8's as Castleford Tigers welcomed St. Helens to the Mend-A-Hose Jungle.

For the home side it was the last chance to give themselves a chance of a play-off berth, however slim, but a win for Saints would guarantee them a top four position with two games left to play. Castleford have lost two on the bounce while the Saints were flying high after a great win over the Leeds Rhinos last Friday.

Despite having all of the early pressure it was Castleford who conceded the first try at the hands of Adam Swift, after a high kick by Luke Walsh was flicked out to the wing and grounded in the left corner. Walsh added the extras for 6-0.

On twelve minutes Adam Swift added a second, a single-handed score on the overlap at the end of a passing move down the line. Luke Walsh was accurate with the boot for a second time from the left touchline and a couple of handling errors had cost the Tigers dear.

It took just three minutes for Saints to get the third when Mark Percival went through a gap after a great passing move from Saints. Walsh added a simple conversion and the Saints were scoring at more than a point a minute.

Castleford struck back on twenty-two when full-back Luke Dorn took a pass off Luke Gale and stepped past the Saints tacklers over twenty metres to score under the sticks, making the Gale kick a formality.

Five minutes and the Tigers were right back in the game when Dorn found himself a gap to fool three Saints tacklers to round and score under the sticks. Gale was again accurate with the boot and the margin was down to six points.

Five minutes out from the interval and the sides were level. Saints were caught offside and the Tigers used the ball as Ben Roberts shrugged off two tackles to score by the sticks. When Gale threaded the ball successfully between the uprights it was 18-18 heading into the interval.

It had been the half of two halves, Saints dominating the opening twenty and Castleford bossing the second twenty.

Five minutes after the interval and Ben Roberts gave the Tigers the lead after McMeeken broke fifty metres before finding his half-back in support to go the last thirty. Gale kicked the extras for a six point lead.

On fifty-one Mark Percival found his way over the line to ground despite the attentions of three Tigers tacklers. Walsh added the extras and the sides were tied up at 24-24.

A second effort in the tackle from Roby gave Gale a forty metre penalty goal on fifty-five minutes but a minute later a lapse in the Tigers defence allowed Scott Quinlan to score. Walsh kicked the extras for a 30-26 lead.

Within a couple of minutes Tommy Makinson pushed his way over the line on the right wing and Walsh added the conversion from out wide and once again Saints were in the driving seat.

On sixty-five Denny Solomona found a gap out left and after rounding to try and improve the angle he got the ball down as he slipped in the in-goal area. Gale slotted the ball between the sticks for 32-36.

Adam Swift sealed the Saints win on sixty-eight after a Wilkin break down the centre found him in support to cover the last forty metres and score under the posts. Walsh kicked his seventh goal of the evening for 42-32.
Two minutes out from the hooter, and after massive Tigers pressure, Junior Moors went through an exhausted Saints defence and Luke Gale added the extras to reduce the margin to four points at 38-42 with under sixty seconds remaining.

A mistake from the Tigers allowed the hooter to have the final say and it sounded a Saints win.

This was an end-to-end match which could have gone either way. It was Saints who held their nerve to collect the points and guarantee their play-off semi-final place. Despite a brave effort from the Tigers, a few lapses of concentration cost them tries at crucial times.

The teams scored at a point a minute illustrating that there would be some defensive questions asked by both coaches during next weeks post-mortems.

Tigers: Dorn (2T), Gibson, McMeeken, Shenton, Solomona (T), Roberts (2T), Gale (7G), Lynch, Milner, Millington, Homes, Moors (T), Wheeldon. Subs: Boyle, Maher, Springer, McShane.

Saints: Quinlan (T), Makinson (T), Percival (2T), Jones, Swift (3T), Burns, Walsh (7G), Amor, Roby, Walmsley, Wilkin, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Turner. Subs: Thompson, Flanagan, Richards, Greenwood.

Referee: Ben Thaler
Attendance: 5,253