St Helens beat Castleford Tigers 36-12 to keep their slim Super League play-off hopes alive, but captain Jackson Hastings’ dismissal for punching Tyler Dupree overshadowed the victory. Saints dominated early and remain likely to need wins in all three remaining regular-season matches to avoid missing the play-offs for the first time in Super League history.

St Helens led 30-0 before half-time through tries from Jack Welsby, Shane Wright, Jacob Douglas, Tom Humphreys and Tristan Sailor, with Nene Macdonald adding another after the break. Hastings was sent off just before half-time, while Alex Walmsley and Chris Matagi were later sin-binned, leaving Saints with 10 players; Castleford scored through Louis Senior and Phoenix Laulu-Togaga'e after Ryan Carr’s departure as head coach for personal reasons.