St Helens coach’s brutally honest assessment of ‘terrible display’ in Castleford defeat

Paul Rowley pulled on punches in his assessment of St Helens’ defeat at Castleford Tigers, labelling what he’d seen as a ‘terrible display’ and saying his side ‘got what they deserved’.

Saints had topped the Super League ladder heading into this weekend, and would have moved back into first-place with a win at The Jungle on Saturday afternoon.

But instead, having been thumped 30-10, they now find themselves behind Leeds on points difference, with the Rhinos having gone top on Friday night with a resounding 52-0 home victory over Huddersfield Giants.

Castleford dominated Saturday’s Super League clash in their own backyard during an afternoon which saw both Jack Welsby and Jackson Hastings sin-binned for the visitors.

‘It was a terrible display from us, we were miles off the pace and we got what we deserved’

Head coach Rowley made no defence for the woeful 80-minute performance his side had just delivered against the Tigers when speaking to Sky Sports post-match.

He said: “They (Castleford) did the fundamentals a lot better than us.

“With double-figure errors and penalties, any team is going to burn you if you give them so much territory.

“Castleford were by far the better side, but we were definitely contributors to our own downfall as well.

“It was a terrible display from us, we were miles off the pace and we got what we deserved.”

Hosts Cas secured back-to-back victories for the first time since July 2024, with Saturday’s success bringing their fifth league win of the season.

Saints have now lost three Super League games this term, and all three of those defeats have come on the road having previously been beaten at both Warrington Wolves and Hull KR.

Rowley added: “I don’t think if we look back that we could’ve prepared any differently, and every team will say the same thing.

“We’ll always try and be consistent in how we prepare. Those performances do sometimes crop up, but it doesn’t mean it’s acceptable or that we want to replicate that.

“Nobody wants to throw that sort of performance out, but we did, and it’s done.

“In isolation, today has been an absolute shocker, there’s nothing positive about it.”