© SportingLife.com 2003
Wigan re-claimed third spot in the Super League table as the Tigers crashed to their fourth defeat on the trot.
But they put up terrific resistance before finally being killed off by late Wigan tries from David Hodgson and Paul Johnson which gave the scoreline a flattering look.
Wigan skipper Andy Farrell again played a vital role landing six goals - leaving him just two points short of 3,000 career points - while Danny Orr could only manage one.
The Warriors led twice in the first half but went in at the break trailing by 10-8.
Two Farrell penalty goals provided the early advantage before the Tigers grabbed the first try.
Hooker Ryan Hudson made it with a brilliant pass to send in Danny Orr, who made up for an earlier penalty miss by landing the conversion.
Wigan were back in front when Adrian Lam's cross-field kick was spilled by Andrew McNally, and Martin Aspinwall accepted the gift try.
Castleford, already missing Michael Eager and Wayne Bartrim, suffered a double blow when forwards Hudson and Michael Smith picked up early injuries.
But the Warriors failed to cash in on two more chances with Aspinwall knocking on near to the line, and Sean O'Loughlin firing a pass into touch.
They also paid the price for some sloppy handling, and Castleford's pressure paid off when Orr's kick to the corner was plucked out of the air by Aussie Paul Mellor who touched down to give the Tigers a two-point lead at half time.
Two more penalty goals from Farrell put Wigan back in charge and he converted both late tries - the pick of them a 55-yard run from Hodgson.
The Yorkshire winger picked up the ball from dummy half and beat five would be tacklers on his way to the line.
© SportingLife.com 2003
Castleford got their Tetley's Super League play-off challenge back on course after weathering a spirited fightback from basement side Halifax.
Halifax were 10-0 down after only 10 minutes but struck back to snatch a 12-10 lead and were still very much in the hunt when the sides were on level terms early in the second half.
But Castleford cut loose in the last half-hour, scoring five tries including two by scrum-half Johnny Hepworth.
The Tigers took a sixth-minute lead with a simple score when Halifax's Andrew Frew failed to take a pass 15 yards from his own line and Danny Orr swooped to grab a touchdown which he also goaled.
Castleford shot further ahead four minutes later when Paul Mellor stormed over from Francis Maloney's pass.
Halifax got back in the game in the 13th minute when Frew made amends for his earlier blunder by scoring a try which Dane Dorahy goaled from the touch line.
Castleford were rocked again six minutes later when Halifax went in front after Sean Penkywicz and Martin Moana combined to put Dorahy in for a try he also improved.
The Tigers were clearly rattled at this stage but they levelled the scores in the 34th minute with a penalty goal from Mitch Healey after Halifax were penalised for a high tackle on Orr.
Ged Corcoran was hauled down inches short of the line in a spell of Halifax pressure early in the second half.
The Tigers regained the lead in the 51st minute when substitute forward Michael Smith went over from Orr's pass.
Halifax's hopes quickly faded when the home side added more tries.
Hepworth, on loan from Leeds, darted over before Orr and Healey combined to make the opening for Andy Johnson to cross. Healey added his third goal.
Hepworth grabbed his second before Jamie Thackray marked his return after a lengthy injury lay-off by scoring Castleford's seventh try as they ended a run of four successive defeats
By Ian Laybourn, PA Sport
Reigning Tetley's Super League champions St Helens turned on the style to make it four wins in a row - their best run of the season - to upstage Castleford captain Danny Orr in a rousing rumble in the Jungle.
Stand-off Orr was the Tigers' hero, scoring 24 points with a hat-trick of tries and six goals, 48 hours after telling them he was leaving the club, but he was put in the shade by the shimmering skills of the Saints.
Ian Millward's men had suffered surprise defeats on their two previous visits to the Jungle but they avoided a hat-trick with the aid of a devastating four-try burst in a decisive 14-minute spell either side of half-time.
Full-back Paul Wellens, centre Martin Gleeson and scrum-half Micky Higham all scored two tries apiece while stand-off Sean Long contributed 18 points with a try and seven goals.
Yet for long periods of the first half, Orr had threatened to win the game single-handedly in his final match as captain.
Orr, who is mulling over offers to join Wigan or Hull, turned the jeers into cheers when he took a pass from captain-in-waiting Ryan Hudson to scoot over for his first try on 19 minutes.
He then took advantage of a lucky rebound when Paul Sculthorpe's attempted clearance kick came back off Hudson to pounce for a second 10 minutes later.
The Great Britain half-back also kicked both conversions, to add to a ninth-minute penalty, but had to wait until stoppage time to complete his hat-trick and by then Saints had the game in the bag.
Saints, back on a roll after their mid-season slump, had an edge in all departments and responded to Orr's individual brilliance with their own brand of free-flowing rugby.
Wily old prop Darren Britt produced some supreme offloading to lay a solid platform for Keiron Cunningham, Sculthorpe and Sean Long to demonstrate their handling skills.
Long made the break that set up Higham for the game's first try and magnificently-timed passes from Britt set up tries for Gleeson and Wellens, who also grabbed a second courtesy of neat pass from Sculthorpe.
And St Helens made the game safe with two long-range efforts early in the second half to appear to make the game safe.
Higham showed razor-sharp reactions to pounce on a loose ball deep inside his own half and send Australian winger Darren Albert racing clear three minutes after the re-start.
Albert was then released down the right flank by a cut-out pass from Sculthorpe and he provided the final pass for Gleeson to grab his second try.
Long's sixth conversion from as many attempts took Saints' lead out to 36-14 but young full-back Tom Saxton gave the Tigers renewed hope when he took Mitch Healey's pass to cross for his side's third try.
The gap was cut to 10 points on 58 minutes when prop forward Michael Smith forced his way over to apply the finishing touches to a jinking run from Orr.
In a tense finale, Castleford twice went close, with Healey failing to ground the ball over the line and Hudson being tackled just short, while, at the other end, Wellens was denied a hat-trick before another powerful burst from Cunningham set up Higham for his second.
Long then raced half the length of the field to grab an opportunist try before Orr had the final say, taking a return pass from centre Michael Eagar to complete his hat-trick.
© SportingLife.com 2003
Castleford underlined their Tetley's Super League play-off potential with a solid display over their struggling neighbours.
Wakefield went into this derby on the back of a six-match losing run and looked a shadow of the side that had already beaten the Tigers twice this year, once in the League and also in the Challenge Cup.
Former Wildcats player Ryan Hudson, who took over the Castleford club captaincy in midweek, led by example and hammered home the final nail in the Wildcats' coffin.
Within seconds of his return from the sin-bin Hudson scored his side's fourth try, and Mitch Healey converted to put Tigers out of sight at 20-4.
Wakefield's Jamie Rooney had given the hosts hope in the second half with a penalty just after the break that cut the gap to just 10 points.
But the Tigers were in no mood to relinquish the win, their first away from home since May.
Hooker Wayne Godwin put plenty of deserved distance between the sides with two tries in the last 10 minutes, both converted by Danny Orr who recently announced his decision to leave Cas at the end of the season.
There looked like little chance of the visitors not taking the win as they took control of the game with three tries in the first 25 minutes.
Winger Waine Pryce crossed wide out after only two minutes, then Dale Fritz and Darren Rogers got over the whitewash within four minutes of each other midway through the half.
Fortunately for the Wildcats stand-off Orr managed only one penalty from five attempts at goal in the first half otherwise they would have been trailing by much more than 14-2 at the break.
Rooney scored Wakefield's only points of the first half with a penalty in the ninth minute.
His penalty after the break gave Wakefield hope before Castleford went into a commanding lead which they converted into victory.
The game was held up at close to the end when home prop Steve Snitch was carried off the filed on a stretcher.
Snitch had taken a blow to the head in a crunching tackle by Hudson and Fritz.
The incident was placed on report by the match referee.
© SportingLife.com 2003
Second-placed Bradford recovered from 16-6 down in the first half to overpower Castleford 40-20 in a pulsating clash at The Jungle.
The Bulls hit back to lead 18-16 at half-time and never looked in danger in the second half. They sealed victory with two tries in the last nine minutes from Lee Gilmour and Tevita Vaikona.
Paul Mellor and Wayne Godwin were hauled down just short of the line as Castleford made all the early running after capitalising on several errors by Bradford.
The Tigers missed a golden chance when Dale Fritz burst clear after swooping on a loose ball but he was unable to find the supporting Waine Pryce.
The Bulls weathered the storm before taking the lead in their first serious attack when Paul Deacon weaved through for a try he also goalled.
Castleford quickly responded when winger Darren Rogers finished crisp handling to go over.
The Tigers soon struck again when Danny Orr put Michael Eagar in for a touchdown that Mitch Healey converted.
The Bulls were rocked again when Healey's kick set up a try for Waine Pryce and Orr added a touchline conversion.
Bradford cut the gap to four points when Leon Pryce scored from James Lowes' kick.
The Bulls regained the lead shortly before the interval when Lee Radford went in from close range and Deacon kicked his third goal.
Bradford stretched their advantage two minutes into the second half when Scott Naylor burst over from Stuart Reardon's pass.
The game fell further away from Castleford when Deacon made the opening for Daniel Gartner to power over.
Waine Pryce's second try put the Tigers 30-20 behind but their fate was sealed when Gilmour's 71st-minute try was followed by a late score from Vaikona. Deacon added his sixth goal.