I'm a firm believer that what happens between the players on the pitch should stay on the pitch. Wilkin has a history of running to the press, he really is a snivelling little turd.

I don't know why people/players spend so much time moaning about him - he's an utter pr*ck, end of. He's not the first RL player to be so, nor will he be the last. He won't change so why worry about it - a roll of the eyes should suffice.

In an England shirt he'll have my support like the rest of them, I just hope he will be in a mood to dig in against the Aus/NZ pack as, although he has been in good form, there is little in his game that suggests to me he'll be anything other than ineffective.

To this point in his career he's not been good enough. He hasn't contributed anything of note to any of Leeds' success.

He does have the physical attributes to be a great player though. But I've never seen him really get stuck in, you just don't notice him at all unless he starts the niggling.

I agree he hasn’t shown great form for much of his career - it is really just the back end of this season that he has started leaving opposition players on the floor when he runs... maybe the much maligned Brian McDermott actually got in his ear and turned him into a better prop this year

I don’t think he will make the England 17 – we will see a rotation of Morley, Peacock, Graham and Carvell in the props

Nobody is suggesting he is outright poor except in terms of his character. As a player he is merely cheap, average and way short of international class. As for Noble selecting him for GB, didn't he also select Karl Pratt?



I very much doubt the Aus and NZ selection will be based on a "solid" 5th prop, they will be looking for the best available. You are using "solid" as a euphemism for unable to make as many yards, tackles, offloads, genuine big hits as a more talented contemporary. The best prop replacing James Graham would be a clone of him, failing that the next best available - not a highly average "solid" player.



You are using team performance to judge individual players - just because Bailey was able to ride on the coat tails of others doesn't mean his own performance was that good. He was after all playing behind a prop who will be nowhere near the NZ team (though I must add is a far better player than Bailey).




I agree that statistics are far from the be all and end all of everything and that they can be cherry picked and manipulated. They do however provide some recorded information rather than the unsupported irrational drivel you spout.

However when you look at Baileys stats, those of the acknowledged top props in the game, and those of average journeymen it is crystal clear which group Bailey belongs in, he is not even close to the best across a wide range of categories.

And as you bring up kick off returns as distorting the stats, perhaps they do and I can't recall Bailey making many. Then again carting the ball back at speed into what is likely to be a 2-3 man tackle with a least one of them lined up for a big hit requires a large helping of courage and toughness.

Clearly, hence the reason so many successful coaches have continued to select him for Leeds week in, week out when fit.

If you're using "ineffective at international level" as a criteria for leaving people out, there won't be an England side to take the field in this Four Nations as none of the squad have exactly covered themselves in glory.

At least he's not an "utter pr*ck" who goes running to the media creating negative publicity for the sport every time he gets his backside handed to him in a big game eh?

You seem particularly defensive of him? Are you his Mum?

The only reason he's been picked consistently is because he is very cheap. I'd be amazed if he's paid a quarter of what the rest of the GB props are being paid.

Bailey costs half of what the other England props are on and does quite an affective job at Leeds,

Not hard to work out whos on a winner is it?

He get's picked because of the specific role he offers in leeds team. He's a luxury they can afford to have.

Let's not pretend he's an awesome prop, but he get's under the oppositions skin and has a habit of making players concede penalties after they've tackled him.

If he can replicate that type of thing against australia, maybe, just maybe general opinion may shift and he may not be such an orrible ***T.

Whilst I don't agree with everything Wilkin says, he is an articulate and thoughtful commentator on the game - not something you could ever accuse Bailey of.

And if Bailey hadn't acted like a complete and utter one then there would have been no "negative publicity" for Wilkin to create. Shoot the messenger is the solution then?

Nobody is disputing that, the problem is that being cheap and doing "quite an affective job" is not a compelling argument for England selection.

Is there a little known salary cap rule on how much the first 17 team cost? Because why does his contract have anything to do with him being picked?

When fit Bailey has been member of Leeds first choice 17 for what 7 years(?) whilst he's rarely been starting prop he has been consistently picked ahead of other and as a result has won 5 Grand finals - the likes of Scruton, Burgess, Cross, Adamson etc have not won Grand finals because Bailey was ahead of them in the pecking order.

His selection has come as a result of some terrific form for the Rhinos this season.

He's still way behind the likes of Peacock, Morley, Graham, Carvell in terms of selection but defo deserves a place in the squad of the back of this season.

Mcnamara might throw him into the fray to mix it up abit alongside the more respected frames of Peacock and Morley.

Its irrelevent in terms of England how much he gets at club level but the fact is, hes done a decent turn this year without breaking our bank.

Infact, Bailey, Leuluai, Kirke, Griffin and Moore are probably some of the cheapest props in SL

Surprisingly it should be Baileys Testimonial season in 2012. 2002 He made his first team debut.

Bet they won't give him one though. Says it all about his character.

Calm down love. A lot of successful Leeds coaches have selected Ian Kirke too and I see nothing in his game to suggest he would be effective either.

You might not be but others are for example:



No Leeds fan has said he's "international class" (he's clearly completely unproven at that level). But what is undeniable is that he is a valued member of Leeds' greatest ever side. He's also been in the best form of his life in the last 3-4 months and so is worthy of a place in the England squad (not necessarily the team but the squad ahead of the likes of Coley etc)

I've no doubt that they will actually (although he may have to wait as I think there's a few players ahead of him in the queue)

Doubt it



Why wouldnt he get one? Should be sharing with Danny Mcguire aswell. A couple of Leeds Legends.

If he's not international class then it follows that he shouldn't be picked for internationals - fairly obvious that. Why should he be ahead of Coley who has better performance stats across the board? If we are going down the dirty player route I'd rather have one who had above average playing ability as well.

Only if you were under the idiotic assumption that we had enough international class players to choose from - fairly obvious that. two reasons, firstly anybody who knows the game to any decent level will tell you there a many more, much more important "intangibles" which make up a game of RL than the stats tell you. Secondly, considering the higher amount of gametime coley had, how much more impressive are his stats? not very.

Hasn't Coley retired anyway?

If there's a shortage of international class players then at least pick those closest to it - which would still rule out Bailey. The "intangibles" with Bailey must be huge because he is so far behind. The truth is though they barely exist and are the last desperate excuse of blinkered Leeds fans bereft of any concrete evidence of Bailey's talents. And I suppose Coley got more game time in a better team because he wasn't any good?



Its harder work and more of an achievement staying on the field grinding it out rather than making cheap shots and running off and needs recognising as such.

I think the nice new super league WINNERS ring that he has. His 4th in 5 yes would argue against the point of coley being in a better team

So not quite how you tried to patronise then eh?
So what are these massive stats differences then? Is it that yards per run which is pretty similar? Is it missed tackles/penalties per tackle which are slightly in Baileys favour? Is it the one more run per game that Coley makes? Is it the offloads per run which is massively in Baileys favour? The tackle busts per run which is also massively in Baileys favour? Im guessing you judge your props on attacking kicks then yeah?