ROHAN Smith insists Leon Pryce will prove a leader at Odsal next season regardless of whether he is made captain.

Pryce's return to Bradford was finally confirmed this week and Smith is relishing having the veteran stand-off on board in 2017.

Yet the Bulls head coach is remaining open-minded about who will succeed departing skipper Adrian Purtell.

"I've got some different thoughts on the captaincy and leadership model that we will go with next season," said Smith.

"I haven't quite decided on that yet but, regardless of whether Leon is captain, he will certainly be a strong presence and leadership role within the group.

"What needs to get said will get said and he will represent the players as far as communicating back to me.

"He will pull people into line and that's the kind of character we need within the group. It's also something that Leon wants to do and will be good at.

"I'm really looking forward to having his input, presence and experience around the place and being part of something that is growing for the future."

Pryce returns to action for Hull at St Helens tonight as Lee Radford makes a number of changes to his Challenge Cup-winning side.

With Carlos Tuimavave preferred at stand-off, Pryce has made only one appearance in the last two months but will now stake a claim for a place in his side's Super League title bid.

Smith is confident Pryce's body will stand up to scrutiny in the Championship next season and said: "As far as I'm aware, there are no real injury concerns with Leon.

"Everyone at 34 or 35 – or even 24 or 25 – will have some issues they need to maintain. I'm experienced in dealing with players who have some wear and tear.

"We will take care of Leon and we won't flog him because we want him to be ready to play each week and enjoying his rugby, playing a style that suits Leon where the game is built around his strengths rather than him fitting into the team plan.

"We will certainly be discussing how Leon can bring his best skill-set to our team."

On-loan Wakefield hooker Stuart Howarth and Huddersfield-bound second-rower Dale Ferguson are poised to return to Bulls action for the Championship Shield visit of Swinton on Sunday.

Smith, meanwhile, spoke to match officials representative Steve Presley this week following Monday's win at Dewsbury, which was officiated by referee Scott Mikalauskas.

"The basis of the chat was about understanding the process of how referees feed back information to coaches and vice-versa," explained Smith.

"It wasn't a crisis meeting or about making any massive complaints. The best team won on Monday, so there wasn't anything to accomplish from ranting and raving.

"It was more just to chat about the Championship in general and the overall way that the games have been refereed since I got here.

"I was giving my two bob's worth and he was explaining the process on a week-to-week basis."

Smith believes the British game would benefit from having two referees, as per the NRL.

"Certainly I think the turning point in the NRL was when they brought in two referees," he said.

"Some people back home say there are inconsistencies between the two referees and that kind of stuff.

"But the game is cleaner and smoother – it flows better – and two referees is certainly the way forward.

"It's an extremely difficult game to referee and to do it on your own makes it even harder, in my opinion.

"It would take a bit of adjustment but I feel that referees can be stronger at the start of the game.

"From the games I've watched, particularly in the Championship, referees need to set the tone early in the game."

Meanwhile, a number of players and staff were left waiting to be paid yesterday after another wages delay.

The club’s workforce were paid a week late at the end of last month and while some players and staff were paid on time yesterday, others were left waiting for their wages to drop.

BRADFORD Bulls Academy last night beat London Broncos Under-19s 40-22 to end the year on a high and must now wait on other games for their play-off spot.

The Bulls have finished the season tremendously strong with Matty Storton scoring a hat-trick in the final league game, but must now wait on other results to go their way before confirming their place in the top four amongst Super League academies.