Who will fill Orford's shoes at Manly?

The departure of Manly captain Matt Orford has left the Sea Eagles halfback jumper wide open, but utility Chris Bailey insists it won’t be he who dons the No.7.<br><br>Competition for the coveted position is fierce, with Jamie Lyon expected to take his place at five-eighth, leaving the number seven jumper vacant for Bailey, Kiwi International Kieran Foran, Queensland Cup player of the year Trent Hodkinson or Toyota Cup team of the year member Daly-Cherry Evans.<br><br>But Bailey, who came to the Sea Eagles from the Knights as a genuine playmaker in 2009, believes he will spend most of the season in the backrow, alongside representative forwards Anthony Watmough and Glenn Stewart.<br><br>“I think I’ll play mostly in the backrow,” Bailey told NRL.com.<br><br>“I’m in a bit of a utility role and I could pop up anywhere, but I think you’ll see me mainly in the backrow.<br><br>“I don’t think they’ve made up their minds, but it will either be Foran or Hodkinson in the halves alongside Jamie Lyon.<br><br>“They have both been getting plenty of time at training and they have both put their hand up.<br><br>“They are both playing very well, so it’s a good headache for Des (Hasler) to have, but a hard one at that.”<br><br>The loss of Orford is a big one for the Sea Eagles, his influence both on and off the field led the Northern Beaches club to win the NRL Premiership and World Club Championship double just two years ago.<br><br>“Ox was our main playmaker, when you take that out of a side you know there is going to be a big adjustment,” Bailey said.<br><br>“But the guys have handled it really well, they have their own style, so it might be a little different, but they will handle it well.”<br><br>Foran was absent from training with a niggle sustained during the trial against Cronulla on the weekend, but Hodkinson was looking sharp alongside Jamie Lyon during some attacking sets of six at Manly’s Narrabean training facility today.<br><br>Hasler was reluctant to give anything away about the vacant halfback position, with the NRL Telstra Premiership season fast approaching.<br><br>“We have some depth there,” Hasler said.<br><br>“We have a trial in two weeks (against the Warriors), so it’s just a process we are going through, but they all have really good credentials.<br><br>“We gave all three players a run in the halves in the trial, with Killer (Lyon) playing five-eighth.<br><br>“It’s a real opportunity and they have to step up to the mark, I’m amazed these days just how young some of the players are.<br><br>“Kieran’s coming off the year he had last year, which ended in him playing for the national side (New Zealand) and Trent Hodkinson played in the Queensland Cup last year, and was player of the year up there, so they all have their upsides.”<br><br>But Hasler hasn’t ruled out pairing two of the youngsters in the halves, revealing that Lyon might be needed to play in his favoured centre position to cover some injuries in the Sea Eagles ranks.<br><br>“We have a couple of solutions,” he said.<br><br>“We are short in the centres at the moment, we have a couple in rehab at the moment and Lyon is a very handy centre as well.<br><br>“We are just pretty fortunate that we can cover those scenarios.”<br><br>The Sea Eagles last trial match is against the Warriors on February 27, at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland.<br><br> <table width="70%" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr> <td><strong><img src="http://www.nrl.com//Portals/0/galleries/Fixture_Cycler_Images/dt_logo_80.jpg" width="80" align="left" height="60">Jamie Lyon</strong> : <br> <strong>Dream Team Value:</strong> $218,300 | <strong>Position:</strong> Halves<br> Do you want Jamie in your Dream Team? <a href="http://dreamteam.nrl.com" target="_blank"><strong>Add him today!</strong></a></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <br><br> <table width="70%" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr> <td><strong><img src="http://www.nrl.com//Portals/0/galleries/Fixture_Cycler_Images/dt_logo_80.jpg" width="80" align="left" height="60">Trent Hodkinson</strong> : <br> <strong>Dream Team Value:</strong> $84,100 | <strong>Position:</strong> Halves<br> Do you want Trent in your Dream Team? <a href="http://dreamteam.nrl.com" target="_blank"><strong>Add him today!</strong></a></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <br><br> <table width="70%" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr> <td><strong><img src="http://www.nrl.com//Portals/0/galleries/Fixture_Cycler_Images/dt_logo_80.jpg" width="80" align="left" height="60">Kieran Foran</strong> : <br> <strong>Dream Team Value:</strong> $214,900 | <strong>Position:</strong> Halves<br> Do you want Kieran in your Dream Team? <a href="http://dreamteam.nrl.com" target="_blank"><strong>Add him today!</strong></a></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <br>