Leeds Knights v Sheffield Steeldogs: Knights preparations overshadowed by Bailey Conger exit saga

The 26-year-old quit the club on Wednesday morning ahead of their 4-1 win at Telford Tigers, with the club confirming his exit via social media the following morning.

In a statement, the Knights said: “We can confirm that Bailey Conger has made the decision to leave the team with immediate effect after notifying the club yesterday morning via text.”

In response, Conger issued a statement via the Banners on the Wall website, confirming that he was returning home to the USA, but adding that he was still waiting to be paid for his time in Leeds.

With Conger’s former team-mates returning to practice on Friday ahead of Saturday’s home clash with the Steeldogs at Elland Road Ice Arena, Knights’ owner, Steve Nell, responded to his claims by saying: “The club does not and never will discuss the contractual details of its players.”

Former players have also weighed into the online saga, with former forward Brandon Whistle - now at Sheffield Steelers - stating: ‘Unfortunately, not the first time this has happened”, in reference to Conger’s claims.

By contrast, Zach Brooks - a star of last season’s league and play-off winning campaign - countered: “Never had any problem with this organisation, nothing but great things to say about the Leeds Knights - took care of us at any time in every situation on and off the ice. Great people are working hard to build a great product for the city.”

Before Conger’s statement came out, Knights’ head coach Ryan Aldridge confirmed that he received notification of the player’s intention to leave via text, adding: “We’re disappointed with how it was done but it is what it is and we just have to move on.”

It leaves the Knights an import short ahead of today’s first instalment of their weekend double-bill against the Steeldogs, with his players getting a chance to rest after a hectic spell of six games in 10 days after Sunday’s rematch in South Yorkshire.

After a losing start to that schedule at home to Hull, the Knights have won three times and will look to go into their short break with two more wins.

“It’s been a tough first half of the season and it’s been draining to be honest,” said Aldridge. “It’s an early game on Sunday, so the boys can go and let their hair down and enjoy their New Year which is key for them because we didn’t really get to enjoy Christmas - they deserve it.”

The Knights will come up against a Steeldogs team in buoyant mood after having undergone a coaching change, Stevie Weeks coming in to replace player-coach Jason Hewitt, who stepped down on Thursday due to “personal circumstances.”

The Steeldogs were trailing 4-1 at home to Telford on Thursday night before producing a stunning comeback by scoring four unanswered goals to run out 5-4 winners.

Having led through a strike from captain Jonathan Kirk at the end of the first, the second period saw the Tigers hit back in clinical fashion.

But the Steeldogs came out firing, with goals from Ben Cutts - his first for the club - Tate Shudra, James Spurr and Jonathan Phillips ensuring a deserved two points.

Despite the coaching change, Aldridge said it would not affect his team’s preparations.

"It’s obviously going to change how they play a little bit, probably change their lines and we’ll see how a different voice behind the bench impacts on them,” he added.

“It’s a derby game and they like to play physical, so it’s not going to be an easy couple of days by any stretch of the imagination.

"But we don’t really change that much for anybody in terms of our preparations, so we’ll be treating them as normal and, if we have to adjust, then we’ll worry about that during the game.”