St Helens built on a strong first half and relied on six different try-scorers to beat 10-man Castleford 36-12 at the Brewdog Stadium to keep their play-off hopes alive. It has been a dramatic week for Castleford, whose former head coach Ryan Carr announced he was leaving the club for "personal reasons" on Friday. Saints also announced a coaching change this week, with Kevin Walters due to join from next season.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player The Australian's new side took an early lead, and tries from Jack Welsby, Shane Wright, Jacob Douglas, Tom Humphreys and Tristan Sailor made it 30-0 before the break. Hastings had added five goals, but lost his cool and was sent off after an altercation with Tyler Dupree for violent conduct. Dupree was sin-binned for the same incident, and tempers continued to flare as the teams disappeared down the tunnel for the break.
Nene McDonald added a sixth try for the hosts after the break, making a Castleford comeback look increasingly unlikely. Louis Senior and Laulu-Togaga'e finally got them on the board, and Saints finished the game with 10 men after Alex Walmsley and Chris Matagi were both sent to the sin bin. St Helens interim boss Eamon O'Carroll told BBC Radio Merseyside: "I said I wanted to see the attitude of the players, and what better way to display that than when you go down to 10 men for 45 minutes?
"The players were fantastic. We simplified a few things, which probably helped, because everyone knew what the role was and their position." Commenting on Hastings' dismissal, Castleford director of rugby Chris Chester told Sky Sports: "Scott Murrell just jumped (in the way of Dupree). We all know the rules, you can't punch people in the face.
"We'll let the disciplinary (match review panel) deal with those kinds of things. That's what they're there for." Hull KR slumped to a second home defeat of the week as Toulouse ran out deserved 32-12 winners following a ruthless second half at Craven Park. The Robins were beaten at home by play-off rivals Warrington on Tuesday night, and head coach Willie Peters dropped both Tevita Pangai Junior and Mikey Lewis following their upcoming bans which were handed out in the wake of the 34-28 defeat against the Wolves.
It was a scrappy start - much to the frustration of the expectant Hull KR fans - as Toulouse dug in during the opening 20 minutes and then exerted some control before Mathieu Jussaume scored the opening try on the half-hour when he broke through down the right. The defending champions, chasing a home play-off berth, finally sparked into life when substitute Elliot Minchella went over in the 35th minute after a surging run by Peta Hiku, with Rhyse Martin adding the extras to make it 6-6 heading into half-time. Toulouse opted to kick for a penalty early in the second half after a late tackle from Tom Amone, but Cesar Rouge saw his 35-metre attempt bounce off the crossbar.
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