Castleford Tigers 0 Hull KR 48: Rovers march on as Wigan Warriors wait in the shadows

Instead, they can look forward to a second game between St Helens and the beleaguered Salford Red Devils in the space of a fortnight.

Saints must be rubbing their hands but the way the season is unfolding, it may not matter where they finish.

Rovers and Wigan are so far ahead of their rivals that an Old Trafford rematch already feels like an inevitability.

The Robins cruised to a 10th straight win with consummate ease at Wheldon Road, taking their overall tally to 19 victories in 20 games.

The only blip? A home defeat by the Warriors in April.

Rovers won’t quite know where they are until they meet again but on the evidence of their post-Challenge Cup form, they could hardly be in better shape.

Fresh from ending their long wait for major silverware at Wembley, there has been no hangover.

Instead, the Robins have scored 116 points in two games and conceded only six after recording a sixth shutout of the year on Thursday night.

Tougher tests await but right now the Robins are sweeping all before them with a swagger.

Castleford pushed KR all the way in round one and were fresh from their most eye-catching result of the season across the river at Hull FC.

But they simply had no answer to Willie Peters’ well-oiled machine and were sent firmly back to the drawing board.

It was clear Rovers were in the mood from the moment former Tiger Jack Broadbent strolled in with barely three minutes on the clock.

A strong carry from Dean Hadley left Castleford on the back foot and gave Mikey Lewis all the time he needed to put Broadbent over.

KR's ability to start fast is no secret but keeping them at bay is a different challenge altogether.

Castleford were helpless to prevent KR from quickly adding a second, Tyrone May providing the killer pass to give Noah Booth the chance to finish acrobatically in the corner.

When Arthur Mourgue added his second conversion from the touchline to make it 12-0, it was a long way back for the Tigers even with the best part of 70 minutes remaining.

Any time Castleford got close to the KR line in the first half, the visitors showed why they have the best defensive record in the competition.

Rovers were out of sight by half-time thanks to tries from Tom Davies and Mourgue.

Davies had already dropped the ball going for the corner when he finished a brilliant loop pass by Mourgue, who soon got on the scoresheet himself from Sam Luckley's offload.

Rovers left points out there – Broadbent spurning a golden chance following a break by Lewis – but they could already start looking forward to the next challenge against Wakefield Trinity.

As listless as Castleford were, there is no shame in coming second best against the relentless Robins.

It threatened to improve for the Tigers at the start of the second half but a bombed opportunity by Zac Cini only served to spark KR back into life.

Jai Whitbread picked up a loose pass from Broadbent to kick off the second-half scoring before Booth took advantage of an error by Louis Senior to complete his brace.

Rovers scored three times in the final 10 minutes to highlight their incredible fitness levels.

Peta Hiku backed up a break by Davies to get in on the act and then returned the favour to give his winger his second try.

A one-sided match started how it finished with a Broadbent try, the centre climbing highest to pluck Lewis' kick out of the air and land the final blow on his outclassed former side.

Castleford Tigers: Cini, Simm, L Senior, Wood, I Senior, Asi, Milnes, Amone, Horne, Singleton, Lawler, Mellor, Atkin. Substitutes: Westerman, Griffin, Hall, Hill.

Hull KR: Mourgue, Davies, Hiku, Broadbent, Booth, Lewis, May, Sue, Litten, Hadley, Whitbread, Batchelor, Minchella. Substitutes: Luckley, Tanginoa, Brown, Leyland.

Tries: Broadbent (4, 79), Booth (10, 66), Davies (25, 73), Mourgue (32), Whitbread (53), Hiku (70)

Goals: Mourgue 6/9

Referee: Liam Moore.