Warrington Wolves’ John Bateman insists he intends to return to Australia at the end of the Super League season. Bateman has joined up with the Wolves on a short-term deal for the remainder of the campaign and looks set to make his debut for the club on Friday against Hull KR.
Bateman joins Sam Burgess’ side at a vital period of the season, with the Wolves currently sitting on top of the Super League table and pushing to get their hands on the Grand Final trophy for the very first time. Bateman knows what it takes to win a Grand Final and he’ll be doing all he can to help Warrington over the line over the next couple of months.
However, the back-rower still has two years left to run on his Wests Tigers contract and as it stands, he will be returning to the NRL club in the off-season.
“I’ve got a contract there and I’ve got to honour it,” he said. “They’ve given me the opportunity to come over here for now and do what I do, which I appreciate from their end. It’s a big thing.
“We probably didn’t have much to play for over there, which is probably why they were more than keen to do it. I’ve got two years left there – we’ll have to see what happens and what gets said from their end.
“From my end, I’ve got a house over there and family so for me, I’ll be going back there at the end of the year.”
On the move, he added: “It all happened literally within a week. Last Monday, Benji [Marshall] pulled me in and told me there was an opportunity to come over and play, and it just went from there. It’s gone pretty fast.
“Not winning games was a problem. Where we were in the league was a problem. That needs sorting but that’s obviously an internal thing.”
Bateman has been named in Warrington’s 21-man squad to take on Hull KR on Friday night and in truth, debuts probably don’t come much bigger with Warrington looking to establish themselves at the top of the division. Toby King, Lachlan Fitzgibbon and Joe Philbin have all been included in the squad after overcoming injuries, while Luke Yates is in line to make his home debut following his switch from Huddersfield Giants.
The return of Tyrone May represents the only change for Willie Peters’ KR, with the half-back returning after a head knock.
Warrington Wolves 21-man squad: Matty Ashton, John Bateman, Jordy Crowther, Ben Currie, Josh Drinkwater, Matt Dufty, Lachlan Fitzgibbon, Adam Holroyd, Toby King, Arron Lindop, Zane Musgrove, Matty Nicholson, Joe Philbin, Sam Powell, Rodrick Tai, Josh Thewlis, Paul Vaughan, Danny Walker, Max Wood, George Williams, Luke Yates.
Hull KR 21-man squad: Peta Hiku, Niall Evalds, Tom Opacic, Oliver Gildart, Ryan Hall, Mikey Lewis, Sauaso Sue, Jez Litten, George King, Dean Hadley, James Batchelor, Elliot Minchella, Matt Parcell, Sam Luckley, Jai Whitbread, Kelepi Tanginoa, Tyrone May, Joe Burgess, Jack Broadbent, Jack Brown, Danny Richardson
