Without wishing to wind up saints fans, I think this season could be Ryan's best so far.

If, as seems likely, JP is to be rested more, I can really see Bailey stepping out of his shadow and leading the pack in a big way. In fact, I think the Leeds pack will have a massive year, they look leaner, meaner & fitter which will mean that Big Ryan's third man tackles will be even more devastating than they were last time out. I actually think his tackling technique has improved - in fact he could be a reasonable outside bet for MOS.

Ryan Bailey for Man Of Steel, you heard it here first...........................................................................and probably last.

Bailey needs a good season and he certainly ended the last one in fine form.

Will he threaten the try line this season? Always an interesting side issue for me.

"Outside bet for MOS" Am i missing the sarcasm..You've got to be kidding right....?

I like Bailey, he is solid in defence and a lot of his hard work goes unnoticed but he hasn't got the footwork nor physical strength to compete for MOS or to carry our pack.

Places in the Leeds pack are like gold dust this season. With Ali, Eastwood and Diskin likely to take up 3 bench spots week after week I can see Bailey not getting into double figures in appearances.

Footwork? James Graham has dainty footwork? He's hardly a Jason Robinson is he. (N.B See what I did with the colour

)

While we're on the topic, where's Bailey's boyfriend gone? By that I mean Bloodbath.

Great forwards need a bit of footwork. These days its not all about up the jumper straight up the middle. Peacock and Graham have the ability to step before hitting the defence whilst still been able to have a good leg drive.

IMO he will be lucky to be making the grade this season, IMO he wont make the 17 in most matches:

P 8 - Kylie Leuluai
P 10 - Jamie Peacock

Int - Luke Burgess
Int - Greg Eastwood
Int - Matt Diskin
Int - Ali Lauitiiti

The choice when one of the above gets injured is between Bailey, Kirke and Amor.

I think that will depend on the job that needs doing. Bailey offers something slightly different to Burgess. Defensively Bailey is excellent, when in form, having that bit of extra agility. Burgess offers more go-forward (see GF 09) and can make a good impact, but his defence is still shaky if people don't run straight at him, and his ball retention is not all it might be.

Besides which, I would envisage the big forwards rotating around quite a lot, so the hypothetical "first choice 17" might not take to the field all that often.

I suspect Bailey will struggle to make a fully fit Leeds 17 and that, unfortunately for us, Leeds will be a more formidable outfit as a result.

Does anybody know when his contract runs to?

Finishes at the the end of this iirc. Doubt he will get a new contract unless he has a big year, so this may be the year that he does make an impact if he is playing for a contract.

Would you prefer to see Bailey coming off the bench than Diskin? Having a two hooker system means we have three big guys rather than four coming off the bench. The TV commentators picked up repeatedly last year on Leeds' ability to bring on not only size but also experience from the bench.