A leading NRL journalist has spoken on the future of John Bateman with reports resurfacing of his clashes with Wests coach Benji Marshall.
The England international is one of the most talked about players down under as they approach the November 1st deadline that allows teams to open negotiations with rival players who have less than one year on their contract.
However, John Bateman still has two years on his contract but his future at Wests looks more and more tenuous as the days go by.
The 31-year-old would leave the club on loan with that news being confirmed 14 minutes into a Wests game, highlighting some disregard for the England international. He’d then conclude the season with Warrington Wolves and has remained in England for his international duty.
Speaking with Serious About RL recently, he confirmed that his partner has travelled across but that he’ll be back Down Under to see out his contract with Wests.
However, that has not stopped the constant exit reports with Manly Sea Eagles linked and now leading journalist David Riccio has explained the situation even further.
‘No way’ that Wests would stop John Bateman exit
Speaking on SEN 1170 Breakfast, Riccio talked through several of the big names Down Under who are subject to contract talks with names such as Ben Hunt, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Josh Addo-Carr discussed, but it was John Bateman who topped the list.
A telling line was Riccio’s opening statement that: “John Bateman is a very strong character”, before he went on to explain the ‘tension’ that led to the second-rower’s exit and ultimately, what the future could hold.
“Benji Marshall certainly had his work cut out for him as a rookie coach to manage John’s character. There is tension there and they did butt heads on occasions this season.
“John went back to England this season and is speaking in all the right terms in being rejuvenated and ready to go again.
“He’s being offered to Manly and if the money is right, there is no way in the world that the Wests Tigers will stand in his way and that’s fact.
“The Tigers want players that want to be there. It will come down to money and from Manly’s point of view, it’s experience.
“It’ll come down to whether (Manly) can squeeze Bateman in the cap. “
John Bateman is on a reported $600,000 per season which was one of the major stumbling blocks for a Super League side, such as Warrington, to take on his contract permanently. It also could be a struggle for Manly with the Sea Eagles who had seen star full-back Tom Trbojevic offer to take a pay cut to help the club, something that the NRL swiftly blocked.
Bateman’s latest England showing was torn apart by the Australian media with one outlet claiming that he had ‘blown a career audition’, in spite of the fact that the stats highlighted Bateman topping the tackle count for Shaun Wane’s side.
Tom
October 31, 2024 at 11:46 am
Oh for those halcyon days when a contract was actually a contract.