Bailey and Hape lead a fresh rivalry

Powergen Challenge Cup final: Yorkshire's old foes look to the new generation for the spark to ignite Cardiff

When the mutually antagonistic clubs and cities of Leeds and Bradford resume hostilities in Saturday's Powergen Challenge Cup final in Cardiff, both teams will be looking for a fresh ingredient that could make the difference between winning the trophy and losing it.

In the close-knit world of rugby league, both sides know each other's strengths and weaknesses so well that it could be some of the newest faces who figure most prominently in determining the outcome.

For Leeds, that could mean the 19-year-old prop Ryan Bailey, who, despite his youth and inexperience, has helped set a new tone in the Rhinos' forward play this season. Not since the days when Darren Fleary and Anthony Farrell stalked the land – "Nice blokes off the field," their coach, Graham Murray, used to say, "mean bastards on it" – has the Leeds pack been as intimidating.

"I used to follow Adrian Morley," says Bailey, a lifelong Leeds fan. "I liked his aggression." Bailey has shown enough of that quality to be known at Headingley as The Black Mozza. It's a compliment, but one he accepts with a proviso: "I want to be my own player – very direct."

Bailey made a handful of first-team appearances last season, but this year his coach, Daryl Powell, surprised many by making him a member of his starting front row ahead of seasoned professionals such as Barrie McDermott and Danny Ward. "I did some hard work in the Academy side and when I got my chance in the first team I took it," Bailey says.

One reason for his ability to do so might have been his experience with the Great Britain Academy side that made a little piece of history by beating the Australian Schoolboys for the first time last autumn. Bailey was the dominant presence in the British pack in those two matches, rattling into the Aussies in intimidating fashion. By the end of the second game, you could see the Australian forwards glancing nervously to see where he was. "It was a good experience, that, because I had to push the team along," he says.

Bailey has also enjoyed the responsibility of starting matches for Leeds, getting stuck into the physical stuff from the start. His size helps, and when he fills out completely he is going to be a formidable specimen. His self-confidence is already fully developed, even with a potentially nerve-racking day in prospect. "I can't wait for the final. I never suffer from nerves; I just want to get into it."

Watching him at Cardiff will be the person to whom he gives most of the credit for his rapid progress – his mum, Julie. "She was the one who saw that I got to training and matches. She pushed me along and, but for her, I wouldn't be in a cup final now."

Bailey is already being talked of as a full Great Britain international in the near future but, for now, he prefers to concentrate on consolidating his place in the Leeds side he always wanted to play for. He has already become a far more important factor in their success this season than anyone could have predicted.

Bailey's potentially intimidating presence at Cardiff is all the more significant because, since the retirement of Brian McDermott, Bradford's four-prop rotation is not quite what it was. By way of compensation, there is rather more subtlety elsewhere in their team.

The Bulls have always resented the typecasting of them as a team who rely on sheer power, but it is a long time since they had a centre with the delicate hands of Shontayne Hape. The 21-year-old New Zealander, a part-time DJ, was recommended by the club's captain, Robbie Paul; the two players' families were neighbours and close friends in Auckland. Although his injury record made it look a slightly risky signing, Hape has been all that Paul promised – and more.

His ability to get the ball out, cleanly and accurately, in the tightest of situations has opened up a whole new wealth of possibilities for Lesley Vainikolo outside him. Despite Bradford's protestations that they were happy with him, Vainikolo was disappointing overall in his first season in England, not often inflicting the damage hinted at by his size.

This year, it has been different, with the giant wingman thriving on Hape's service. Hape is no midget himself, but with his elusive footwork he has the priceless ability to go around defenders as well as through them – and that has added a new dimension to Bradford's back-line.

"We still have so much room for improvement," said their coach, Brian Noble, after the wing partnership had done much to dismantle Hull in their last pre-Cardiff outing on Friday night. If they can produce something similar on Saturday, Noble will be even more happy that he was talked into signing Hape.