Bateman aiming to win Super League with Warrington
On-loan Warrington Wolves forward John Bateman says he has returned to England in order to win Super League with the club.
Warrington Wolves forward John Bateman says he has returned to England in order to win Super League with the club.
The 30-year-old joined the Wire on a short-term loan deal from Australian National Rugby League side Wests Tigers earlier in July.
Bateman has twice won in a Grand Final with Wigan, but his new club have yet to win the showpiece final in the Super League era.
“For myself it was just about the opportunity – I know a lot of the boys here, I know [head coach] Sam [Burgess],” Bateman told BBC Radio Merseyside.
“It was about coming over, going out there and taking this club to a place it’s never been before – that is win the Super League and that is a big part of what I wanted to do.”
Bateman’s arrival at Warrington came following reports in Australia that he had fallen out with Wests Tigers head coach Benji Marshall.
Asked if there was a problem at Wests, which led to his return to England, Bateman said: “Not winning games, that’s a problem. Where they are in the league, that’s a problem.
“Obviously that needs sorting.”
Coming to terms with a return to England
Despite the circumstances over his return to England, just 18 months into his Wests career, Bateman is still under contract with the NRL club.
The England forward joins Warrington for the tail end of an impressive season under Burgess, with the Wire in the frame at the top of Super League.
“The biggest thing I’ve considered is my family. My partner is from Australia and is over there at the moment with my little fella, so that’s a big thing,” he said.
“Her head fell off, I’ll be honest, because it was mentioned on Tuesday and then I was booking flights.
“It was coming to terms with that but once that was sorted, I was ready to go.”
Bateman is under contract with Wests for the 2025 and 2026 seasons and is adamant that he will not yet be returning to England on a permanent basis.
“I have to honour my contract there, they’ve given me the opportunity to come over here and I appreciate it’s a big thing,” Bateman added.
“We didn’t have much to play for over there so that’s probably why they were more than keen for me to do it.
“I’ve got two years left and we’ll have to see what’s said. I don’t know about their end but on my end I’ve got a house over there so I’ll be going back.”
