SAINTS boss Keiron Cunningham has tipped Castleford to break into the top four this year – but even he must have been surprised at the ease in which the Tigers triumphed 22-6 in this last pre-season game of the year.

Cas looked more inventive with the ball and sharper with their execution, and defensively smothered Saints who did not help themselves with a series of inopportune knock ons throughout.

Ball control aside, which put them under significant pressure, Saints looked a disjointed outfit at times, maybe understandably as they come to terms with playing without injured linchpin Matty Smith.

They tried three combinations in the halves featuring Danny Richardson, Theo Fages and Tommy Lee – and will no doubt spend the next 10 days working on one of those permutations to get things ticking over smoother for the Super League start.

If Saints needed something to give them a jolt, they certainly got it against a lively Cas side who secured their first win on St Helens soil in 25 years.

The Tigers opened the scoring with their first attack of the game on two minutes – after a Luke Gale bomb on the last was allowed to bounce, seemingly with nobody willing to commit, allowing the visitors to regather and spread the ball.

As soon as he got his hands on it, half back Rangi Chase backed himself, despite having an overlap, and made it through with relative ease.

Gale tacked on the extras to put the Tigers 6-0 up.

Saints found it difficult to get good field position and they were not helped by their ball control.

Dominique Peyroux lost the ball in the tackle on the 30-metre mark clearing the line, but that wave of pressure ended up with ex-Saint Michael Shenton being stopped just short of the line.

And then full back Jonny Lomax was adjudged to have knocked on despite his team-mates’ protestations that the ball had been regathered.

The first good ball set had saw second row Joe Greenwood over but he was held up over the line.

Later in the set Greenwood thought he was over again, only this time the referee ruled it was short when he reached out his arm out in the tackle.

At the quarter mark Saints brought Tommy Lee on for Richardson, but there was still, understandably, a disjointed feel to the attack.

When Adam Swift lost ball in tackle, on his own 40 metre line Cas again had good field position.

A subsequent Castleford penalty in that set saw the visitors put on a training ground move, which was remarkable in the way it came off.

Good hands, in true Classy Cas style, saw Gale create space and a simple but effective pass saw England full back Zak Hardaker glide through unopposed on the left for the second try on 26 minutes.

Gale’s conversion attempt hit the post to leave it 10-0.

Saints kept at it, without doing anything particularly flashy, and were over again – this time through Morgan Knowles, but once again he was unable to get the ball down.

A minor flare-up on the line was possibly the only other event of note as from the subsequent penalty Saints again found no way through.

The second half was barely a minute old when Percival again lost the ball in the tackle.

With Tigers packman Junior Moors proving difficult to put down, a grubber forced a drop out and Cas were back on the attack.

And they made Saints pay on 46 minutes, with strong running second row Jesse Sene-Lefao selling a dummy and then stepping before powering home for another try that will make for painful viewing in review.

Gale’s conversion made it 16-0 and Saints got a let off from the restart when centre Jake Webster looked to have been motoring through, only to be pulled for a forward.

Luke Thompson brought some energy when he came on and his vim and vigour won a penalty, but slow ball along the line saw Lomax’s pass to Percival delivered under pressure and the ball hit the deck.

Sub hooker Jonah Cunningham, who spelled James Roby for half an hour, went over dummy half but ref had already blown for a Saints penalty.

Cas's defence was up quick and again forced a knock on in the tackle, up very quickly.

Up at the other end Cas again asked questions and forced another drop out.

And back they came, moving the ball, running strongly and looking dangerous and much, much sharper than anything pedestrian Saints had offered. Chase went close, and was only just stopped a couple of feet from the line.

But from the subsequent penalty the Saints line cracked again with powerful prop Grant Millington forcing his way over on 58 minutes. Gale made it 22-0 and although Saints re-introduced skipper Wilkin and hooker Roby in the last quarter, it was by this stage a damage limitation exercise.

A promising burst up the left ended with a Jack Ashworth forward pass as Saints sought desperately to trouble the scoreboard.

They finally broke their own deadlock on 75 minutes through a combination of good fortune and persistence.

Cas wing Greg Eden sought to stop Richardson’s fine 40/20 attempt by tapping it back inside, only for Adam Swift to motor on to it, avoiding the touchline before racing over for the try. Mark Percival kicked the goal.

But that was only a consolation for Saints.

Saints: Lomax; Makinson, Fleming, Percival, Swift; Richardson, Fages; Douglas, Roby, Walmsley, Greenwood, Peyroux, Wilkin. Subs: Amor, Walker, Thompson, Lee, Knowles, Ashworth, Grace, Cunningham.

Castleford: Hardaker; Minikin, Webster, Shenton, Eden; Chase, Gale; Lynch, McShane, Springer, Sene-Lefao, McMeeken, Massey. Subs: Millington, Million, Moors, Cook, Monaghan, Gill.