The Saints are off to Tiger Town, an exciting Saturday evening Betfred Super League clash against Castleford Tigers, with kick-off at 8pm.
🎟 TICKET INFORMATION
St.Helens have been allocated standing tickets in the Railway End of The Jungle.
Tickets can be purchased online with the Saints ticketing website, via the Saints’ Ticket Office or over the phone on 01744 455052. Saints’ tickets sold through the Club will be coming off sale at: 5pm on Friday, 21st February.
Anybody who has requested Ticket Office collection must collect their tickets by 4pm on Saturday, 22nd February. Any uncollected tickets will be available to collect at The Jungle Ticket Office on gameday.
For more ticket details including pricing or allocated seating, please click here.
SQUAD NEWS
Paul Wellens makes two changes to the squad he declared for Saints’ 82-0 win over Salford last Saturday night.
Lewis Murphy is sadly set for around eight to ten weeks on the sidelines following a hamstring injury picked up in last week’s match. Moses Mbye is the other Saint that steps out of the squad. Coming into the 21 then are hooker Jake Burns, and half-back George Whitby.
Click or tap on the image below to read more about our Round 2 squad news!
Castleford make two changes to their squad too with Hull KR loanee Lee Kershaw coming in for what may be his Tigers debut, and one of their Vice-Captains Alex Mellor is available for selection after missing out in Round 1.
The players stepping out of the Fords squad are Will Tate who will need to undergo ankle surgery, and our very own Ben Davies who will not feature against his parent club after joining Castleford on an initial two-week loan which began last week.
Castleford Tigers’ 21-man squad vs St.Helens
1. Tex Hoy, 3. Zac Cini, 4. Sam Wood, 5. Innes Senior, 6. Daejarn Asi, 8. Liam Watts, 9. Liam Horne, 10. George Lawler, 11. Jeremiah Simbiken, 12. Alex Mellor, 13. Joe Westerman, 14. Judah Rimbu, 15. George Griffin, 17. Luke Hooley, 18. Josh Hodson, 20. Muizz Mustapha, 21. Sylvester Namo 23. Fletcher Rooney, 24. Josh Simm, 35. Dan Okoro, 37. Lee Kershaw
💬 COACH PREVIEW
Knowing that the Castleford team under new coach Danny McGuire are perhaps a little more battle-hardened after two tough fought and close battles in as many weeks, and it being the Tigers’ first home match of the new Betfred Super League season, Paul Wellens knows they will be very much up for it.
Saints TV subscribers can watch Wello’s full Coach Preview!
🏉 THE REST OF ROUND 2
Thursday
Wakefield Trinity 12-14 Hull KR – 8pm
Friday
Hull FC vs Wigan Warriors – 8pm
Warrington Wolves vs Catalans Dragons – 8pm
Saturday
Salford Red Devils vs Leeds Rhinos – 3pm
Sunday
Leigh Leopards vs Huddersfield Giants – 2:30pm
Take a look at how the Betfred Super League table looks ahead of Round 2 by clicking here.
THE RECORD AGAINST CAS
Super League summary
The Saints/Tigers head-to-head battle in Super League weighs heavily in favour of St. Helens, 53 wins for the Red V to Castleford’s 11 with 1 draw too. Within those 52 wins over the West Yorkshire club are victories in the 1999 and 2014 play-offs.
Our highest score over Castleford came in 2006 at The Jungle, 72-4, which is also our widest margin over the Tigers too.
Last ten meetings
St Helens 40, Castleford 4 (SLR26, 13/9/24)
St Helens 6, Castleford 8 (SLR16, 5/7/24)
Castleford 4, St Helens 60 (SLR11, 10/5/24)
Castleford 4, St Helens 34 (SLR23, 25/8/23)
St Helens 22, Castleford 0 (SLR17, 30/6/23)
Castleford 6, St Helens 24 (SLR2, 26/2/23)
St Helens 20, Castleford 12 (SLR22, 7/8/22)
Castleford 30, St Helens 10 (SLR10, 22/4/22)
St Helens 10, Castleford 20 (SLR19, 12/8/21)
Castleford 12, St Helens 26 (CCF, 17/7/21) (at Wembley Stadium)
📲 FOLLOW THE GAME WITH SAINTS
Fans not in attendance will be updated in full with the Saints’ Live Match Centre – your hub to find out the team news, follow live game updates, see behind the scenes photos, and click to read all the key stories of the fixture.
St.Helens’ social media accounts will keep supporters up to date of every key moment, so ensure you are following us!
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Highlights and the full match replay will be available for Saints TV subscribers too.
WEARING THE RED V
Whilst it is our Saints’ first league away day of the new season, the 2025 Home Kit will be worn on Saturday night!
Taking centre stage, the iconic Saints crest has been transformed into a futuristic holographic badge and is placed in the centre of the shirt for the first time in 16 years. The shirt has elasticated sleeve cuffs that feature a woven oval SH pattern taken from one of the core elements of the Club crest, with the SH also watermarked into the Red V and on the side panels of the shorts.
Get yours online by visiting saintssuperstore.com!
🗣️ WHO WILL BE THE MATCH OFFICIALS?
Tom Grant will be the Referee for Saturday night’s fixture, and he will be supported by Touch Judges Neil Horton and Denton Arnold, as well as Video Referee James Vella at Rugby League’s remote refereeing base.
🔎 A LOOK AT THE TIGERS
The Tigers are in the process of building to become a more competitive team following a tough couple of seasons in 2023 and 2024. With a new Chairman in Martin Jepson following takeover talks, which are ongoing, the Cas fans are hopeful that those green shoots of a good future will continue to grow in 2025.
A legend of Leeds Rhinos and one of the key men that broke the Tigers’ hearts in the 2017 Grand Final, Danny McGuire is now at the helm at Wheldon Road. McGuire has served as an Assistant Coach at Hull KR for a couple of years, then initially joined Cas as an Assistant too under Craig Lingard but at the end of last season it was McGuire who would become the main man at The Jungle.
McGuire is joined by former Rhinos teammate, and colleague at the Robins, Brett Delaney as his Assistant.
The Tigers in recent seasons have had a lot of ins and outs, and coming in for 2025 they have brought in four overseas recruits with centre Zac Cini and half Daejarn Asi joining from Parramatta Eels, former PNG Hunters hooker Judah Rimbu, and North Devils back-rower Jeremiah Simbiken.
They join a squad that has the likes of Tex Hoy, Liam Horne, Joe Westerman and Rowan Milnes, all of whom will be key men in the Castleford spine.
However, 2025 has begun in mixed fashion for Cas. The competitive season began over at Odsal with Bradford, albeit with a highly experienced squad, getting a Championship scalp by besting the Tigers and knocking them out of the Challenge Cup.
That early exit justifiably had Fords fans concerned, however, just five days removed from that game McGuire’s men showed that they will be competitive in Super League 2025. Cas took Hull KR on in Round One away from home, the match went to the death 18-18, and if Hoy’s late penalty attempt had been successful, they would have likely got a surprise win over last year’s Grand Finalists. However, the match went to Golden Point and Mikey Lewis slotted over a one-pointer to pinch the league points.
So, onto Saturday, and the Tigers are back at home for the first time in the 2025 Betfred Super League. The Jungle is one of the most hostile grounds in the competition, with the fans so close to the field and a tight, narrow pitch. The game serves as McGuire’s first official home game as Head Coach too, so he will look to have his team put in a performance in front of their own fans.
Three to watch
- Fletcher Rooney – fresh off the news a five-year extension, the Tigers see this young fullback as a key man for the future, and it’s clear to see why with his sidesteps creating a great try at Hull KR last week
- Liam Horne – their hooker is a fan favourite, however he can rotate with Joe Westerman at loose forward too, with him very much enjoying a physical battle but he needs to control his aggression as was demonstrated last year when he picked up a red card in our away fixture at Cas
- Innes Senior – the Tigers’ top try-scorer in 2024 can finish in the corner and he can break lines to go in from distance, he also is a key man in taking early carries for the Cas side
🏎️ SUPER MATTY SUPER READY FOR TIGERS TEST
Following a big win in our opening game, against Salford, Matt is looking forward to getting back out there, but knows that the circumstances surrounding last weeks game means this will be an entirely different proposition.
Castleford will come into the game full of confidence. Despite their opening round loss to Hull KR, it was a valiant display from the Tigers going down in golden point, and one they will take a lot from this week.
Watch the full player preview with Matt on Saints TV!
⏭️ UP NEXT AT HOME: HULL KR
