Former Wigan Warriors man and ex-Warrington Wolves loanee John Bateman has spoken on his controversial and well-documented Wests Tigers exit with the England international revealing that he was made to feel like a scapegoat.
The John Bateman and Wests Tigers saga was played out very publicly from his loan move to Warrington Wolves being announced during a Wests game to him seeking RLPA action over Wests’ actions around Christmas time.
It was heavily reported Down Under that Wests coach Benji Marshall and John Bateman had a feud, something that the England international has now clarified when speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald as a North Queensland Cowboys player.
Plenty of the talk about Bateman after being loaned to Warrington was that he did not intend to return, despite having multiple years on his contract, and he has now rubbished that claim.
“I had all intentions of going back, [even though] the club may have had a different view on that,” he explained.
He had previously told Serious About Rugby League that he had two years on his deal and wished to honour them, however, his interview with the Herald has seen him reveal his disappointment at the club’s lack of clarity over his and Marshall’s relationship.
Bateman explained: “When I got to England, I was seeing all these stories [about my relationship with Marshall].
“I was pretty disappointed it wasn’t shut down earlier by the club. Benji came out four months later to say we never had an argument, but that could have been shut down a lot earlier.
“I didn’t have any blow-ups or an argument with Benji or anything like that.”
John Bateman clarifies Wests Tigers exit and issues
Credit: John Clifton/SWpix.com
During his time in England, John Bateman made a major impact with Warrington Wolves which coupled with the reported issues at Wests made for speculation he could remain, something he was set against.
He’s now explained the complete breakdown and lack of communication between himself and the club, labelling it “bizarre”.
The forward said: “I didn’t hear from anyone once I got to England about coming back. I didn’t hear anything when I was signed [by the Cowboys] in the pre-season.
“When I went to England, I didn’t speak to anyone [at the Tigers] after that. It’s pretty bizarre.”
One of the reasons cited for the initial reported feud was the idea that Bateman was a big character in the dressing room and butted heads with Marshall. Bateman moved to explain that he simply felt like the younger players at Wests weren’t developed properly whilst he and former player Luke Brooks were made out as scapegoats.
Bateman explained: “I wanted the kids to learn. They have a great bunch of kids there. At times, I didn’t feel like they were learning how I wanted them to learn, and I wanted them to get better.
“I refer back to [former Tigers halfback] Luke Brooks. The period I thought Brooksy should have been playing State of Origin and for Australia, he got caught in that trap of being there, and he didn’t pick anything else up, and he was made the scapegoat for years and years.
“I got a bit of that [feeling like the scapegoat] last year, but we move on.”
Despite the split, he clarified: “I never regret anything. I wish the club all the best. I still have a lot of good mates at that club.”
He’s expected to feature prominently for North Queensland after they lost forward Heilum Luki for the year during the pre-season.
