John Wilkin is a sensible professional player.

For someone on clearly a small wage he hasn't half generated some interest. Had we signed James graham I doubt there would have been as much input. I'm beginning to love him already, I hope he continues to annoy Wilkin (provoking more of the arm flapping football mentality the scousers seem prone to) and proves everybody wrong...sod it I'm getting his name on my kit for Xmas.

You are right about the level of interest is unreal. As Eddie waring used to say " he's attracting a lot of attention". Let hill, sims , dodds, Clark and the halves play the game and get the opposition after bailey and you will be laughing. Even if he just does 30 minutes of good tackling will be better than asotasi

Exactly. Quick, messy play the ball where bailey is attracting attention due to being an irritant will suit Clark down to the ground. If, as some have said, he is simply a cheap shot wind up merchant then with his medal collection he must be the best at that that super league has ever seen. If fit and focused he tackles well and by various means attracts attention away from where it should be...as leeds fans have pointed out about the grand final. He does a particular job and over his career so far he's clearly done it very very well. There have been PLENTY more reprehensible humans who have donned our kit over the years.

Crediting Ryan Bailey with Leeds' Super League wins is like crediting me with our Challenge Cup wins.

One year

You know, I'm actually starting to come around to the idea now you've pointed this out. Possibly it's just me trying to look on the bright side, but assuming he doesn't cause any problems off the field he probably will cause problems for the opposition, as a distraction if nothing else.

Like it or not he REPEATEDLY found himself in those grand final teams. He was a starting prop for the best team in super league over the last decade and in leeds' most successful team EVER. Whatever you think of the man he clearly isn't/wasn't rubbish and did the job he was tasked to do with great effect....all this whilst having his own off field issues. At the very least he's also a bloody character in a game quickly becoming devoid of them.

Off the top of my head I can name a dozen players who have done far worse things on the field than Bailey, and a dozen more who've done far worse than he has supposedly done off it. A couple of them are former Wire players. The hysteria around the guy is so OTT its not true.

No one at Leeds truly credits him with those GF wins, it's just something to get under the skin of opposition fans......and clearly has worked. Truth is he was a sub prop, a role you'd never associate with being the key man to a Final success.....just someone who did a role within those wins, and he did on a number of occasions. One that Sinfield, Peacock and JJB have praised him for and one that Smith, McClennen and McDermott have picked him for, but I suppose those on RLFans know better than those 6 title winning men.

I just can't help thinking in a few months he'll be gone and we'll be looking back and thinking "Did we really have a 22 page thread on him"?

You may be right. But if he is truly the crappy liability some on here make him out to be, yet ends up playing regularly, you will need to think seriously about finding another scapegoat as it'll mean there are even more serious failings in your other squad members.