St Helens face a difficult away test against the Castleford Tigers as Paul Wellens’ side look to build on their record-breaking Super League opener.

Tristan Sailor had a dream debut for the Saints following his transfer from the Brisbane Broncos, scoring four tries as St Helens completed a record-breaking 82-0 victory against a depleted Salford Red Devils side.

The Castleford Tigers will offer a much sterner test of Wellens’ side after they suffered a heartbreaking 19-18 Golden-Point defeat against Hull KR in their first game.

Victory against the Tigers is likely to help Saints retain top spot in the Super League table, following their huge opening round victory.

With the Saints preparing for their tough trip to West Yorkshire, Wellens has confirmed Murphy faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Paul Wellens provides St Helens team news update

Speaking after the game against Salford, Wellens provided an optimistic assessment of Murphy’s chances of playing against Castleford. stating: “We took him off early but it’s a bit of a precautionary measure, but we’re hoping obviously there’s nothing more significant there.”

However, ahead of the Salford game, Wellens has confirmed that Murphy faces up to two months on the sidelines. Speaking via Love Rugby League.

He said: “It’s looking like an eight-week injury for a hamstring tendon tear.

“As you can imagine Lewis is devastated, he was showing good signs of what he’s going to bring to the team and he’s a brilliant young man so it’s a hammer blow so early in the season.”

Saints boss Paul Wellens, St Helens coach, pic by Alamy Images under agreed licence
St Helens boss Paul Wellens pic by Alamy Images under agreed licence

Castleford Tigers Team News

Castleford moved to strengthen their squad ahead of the game by signing winger, Lee Kershaw on a short-term loan deal from Hull KR.

The Tigers squad has been ravaged with injuries with Rowan Milnes, Louis Senior, Sam Hall and Jason Qareqare all unavailable.

The club has also confirmed that Will Tate faces four months on the sidelines as he requires surgery on an ankle injury.

Castleford’s head of medical services, Dr Nick Raynor stated: “Everyone at the club is absolutely gutted for Will. He’s a great bloke and a top professional,”

He added: “He is receiving full support from our physiotherapy staff, and I know he’ll tackle rehab with total commitment.”

Previous meetings:

Date Home Team Away Team Winner Final Score
13/09/24 St Helens Castleford Tigers St Helens 40-4
05/07/24 St Helens Castleford Tigers Castleford Tigers 6-8
10/05/24 Castleford Tigers St Helens St Helens 4-60
25/08/23 Castleford Tigers St Helens St Helens 4-34
30/06/23 St Helens Castleford Tigers St Helens 22-0
26/02/23 Castleford Tigers St Helens St Helens 6-24

 

Player to watch: Tristan Sailor

Sailor proved his pedigree with four tries and two try assists on Super League debut, thrilling the Saints faithful with his evasive running.

Tristan Sailor carries the ball
Credit: Naprazzi / Wiki Commons

However, Castleford will be a different proposition to a weakened Salford side, which was full of reserve players.

As a result, it will be interesting to see how Sailor performs against a stronger Super League squad.

If he can repeat his dazzling debut, the voices predicting that he is an early contender for the Man of Steel award will only grow louder.

Featured image via Alamy (Free To Use)

 

 

 

 

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR