Can they do it on a bitterly cold Sunday afternoon in Castleford? Yes, in short. Barely a week removed from being crowned world champions after their victory against Penrith in Australia, St Helens began their quest for a fifth successive Super League title in exactly the manner we have come to expect.
Paul Wellens and his side landed back in England only late on Monday and had an interrupted training week to prepare for what is often a tricky trip to West Yorkshire to face the Tigers, at a ground where they had not won since March 2019. But, as so often in recent years, they got the job done and got it done well.
Leading 6-0 at half-time after a hard-fought opening 40 minutes against a Castleford side still waiting for their first win of the season, the Saints defied any belief that their excursion would cause some sort of fatigue late on here by scoring another three second-half tries to run out comfortable victors.
Having been delayed by traffic on the approach to the game, with Wheldon Road nearly full, the Saints started the stronger, eventually breaking the deadlock when Jack Welsby crossed from close range.
“That situation wasn’t ideal, the traffic, but the whole week travelling back from Australia hasn’t been ideal and they’ve taken it in their stride,” Wellens said. “I was very keen for us as a team to put down a marker for 2023 and approach it with the right mindset.”
Castleford would rue a number of missed opportunities in the first half, chiefly centred around their winger Jake Mamo, who broke downfield on four separate occasions before failing to find a decisive pass. Those moments would prove crucial in the end.
“The reason St Helens have got such a target on their back is because they stay in the game and land that sucker punch,” their coach, Lee Radford, said.
If a Saints side featuring 13 of the team who defeated Penrith in the World Club Challenge handled the first half well, they were even better in the second. They doubled their lead when Tee Ritson finished a superb break from Jonny Lomax, before a double from the prop Alex Walmsley in the final quarter eradicated any doubt that Castleford’s sole try from Jack Broadbent, which briefly made it 12-6, would be anything more than a consolation.
It may only be one win but the early evidence is that the gulf between St Helens and their rivals, which has been in place for four seasons, remains. Their quality was perhaps best summed up by Radford’s post-match admission of what departments both on and off the field the Saints are superior to their rivals in. “Everything,” he said succinctly.
