Nights like these are becoming all too common for the Super League leaders, St Helens, but you suspect the novelty is nowhere near wearing off yet. By the end, this was a familiar story, a dominant all-round performance spearheaded by the brilliance of Ben Barba – however, this victory carried extra significance, you feel.
Only twice throughout the entirety of last season were Castleford beaten here; St Helens have achieved that themselves in the last fortnight, following their victory in the Challenge Cup. That, if anything, underlines just how far ahead Justin Holbrook’s side are of the field at present.
Hearts will have been in mouths midway through the second half here when Barba hobbled off after long since assuring another victory for the Saints. His odds surely continue to shorten for the Man of Steel award after this latest performance.
How relieved St Helens fans will have been to hear Holbrook deliver a reassuring post-match update on the full-back, saying: “He’s fine, he’s just got a couple of bumps and bruises.” With a Challenge Cup quarter-final against Hull a week away, those words may have been the most welcome of the night for the supporters.
The fact Castleford dominated last year’s regular season – much like the Saints are doing this – and ultimately failed to win the Grand Final should at least provide hope to them, and the rest, that things can change come play-off season but this was a chastening evening for them.
A late flurry of tries aside, which added some respectability to the scoreline, they were well-beaten. “Players have got to be able to do their jobs better,” said the Castleford coach, Daryl Powell. “Too many of our players have to change if we are to have a chance of doing anything.”
In effect, victory felt assured for the Saints by half-time, when they were leading 22-4 thanks to four wonderful tries, the pick of which was a sensational individual effort from Barba, who raced the length of the field. He was ably assisted by the stand-off, Jonny Lomax, who will have done his England hopes no harm with this performance.
Barba’s departure failed to stunt their attacking prowess while Jake Trueman and Oliver Holmes were among Castleford’s late scorers.
The Saints finished the scoring with two wonderful breaks that were both finished by Théo Fages as their dominance at the Super League summit continued.
