John Bateman salary reportedly making for ‘messy’ Wests Tigers saga

The situation at Wests Tigers with John Bateman has become incredibly ‘messy’ per one leading NRL voice with both parties disillusioned.

That’s according to Michael Carayannis of The Daily Telegraph with the reporter revealing details of the ‘messy, messy situation’ when speaking on SEN radio.

It’s been evident for months that the John Bateman and Wests Tigers situation is a fragile one, as exemplified by the countless reports of a rift between head coach Benji Marshall and the strong personality of John Bateman.

Just last week, those reports resurfaced when David Riccio, also speaking on SEN, explained that both Marshall and Bateman ‘did butt heads’ as he confirmed that ‘there is no way in the world’ that Wests would prevent the Englishman exiting.

That’s not something that John Bateman seems massively keen on though with the 31-year-old continuously stating that he is contracted to Wests and will return there to see his two years out.

Speaking to Serious About RL, he explained: “I’ll be going back. I’ve got two years on my contract there, it’s all up in the air with people saying this and that but for me and for Wests, I’ve spoken to my agent and he’s let them know that I’m going back so yeah, we’re good to go.”

Per Carayannis, the situation is far less cut and dry.

John Bateman and Wests saga becomes murkier

John Bateman is on a reported salary of around $600,000 per year, hence why Warrington Wolves were not in the market to sign him permanently with that fee massive in terms of Super League salary.

However, it is also significant down under and of the teams that John Bateman has been linked with, Manly Sea Eagles included, it’s a question of whether they can fit him in on their cap.

Revealing that it is a ‘messy, messy situation’ between both parties, Carayannis explained: “The Tigers don’t want John Bateman to return and Bateman doesn’t particularly want to return to the club.

“Bateman has that link with Manly but the Sea Eagles have to move a player to accommodate him and they haven’t been able to do that.

“It’s a delicate situation because neither party wants to be aligned with each other next season.”

There have also been other reports in the media Down Under taking aim at John Bateman with The Daily Telegraph claiming that the Englishman had ‘blown his career audition’, in reference to the late-game scuffle he was involved in with Jazz Tevaga.

As it happened, the stats saw Bateman top the tackle count for England in a dominant 80-minute performance.