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“Playing in Super League there was something missing” – Bateman compares NRL to Super League

John Bateman made his second NRL debut over the weekend as Wests Tigers came up short against the Canterbury Bulldogs.

Bateman previously played in the NRL for Canberra Raiders but after two years returned to Wigan Warriors in 2021 where the former Super League Champion would go onto win the 2022 Challenge Cup.

But he has found his way back to the NRL saying that something was “missing” for him in Super League – “the contest” that you can endure in the NRL.

He said to the NRL’s official website:

“Playing in the Super League I felt like something was missing for myself and it was probably missing the contest back here and the competition of the NRL,” Bateman told the media at training.

“I love a competition, that’s what I pride myself on. I love a contest and I don’t like taking a backwards step.

“I see everything as a contest on the field, you need to win your battles and if everyone out on the field does that I think we’ll win the game.

“That’s what we’re looking to do, we are looking to win the battle in certain areas of the field. Moving forward, if we come together, we can win the game.

“I just hate losing to be fair. I’m not a good loser, I never have been. I do whatever I can do to win,” Bateman said.

“I’ve got an older brother and when we were younger, me and him, we were just always trying to win. It probably stems from that a little bit.

“It’s frustrating to hear what’s been done before because we’re trying to look to the future. The club’s a massive club, we need to go out there and represent it the best we can. Obviously the first few games we haven’t done that so it’s down to it’s up to us now to do that.”

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