After months of speculation, John Bateman’s move to Wests Tigers from Wigan Warriors has finally been confirmed but what do the fans think of his departure?
It was nice to see plenty of Wigan fans wish him good luck on his new adventure. There seemed to be no hard feelings from some as they bid farewell to Bateman for the second time in five years.
Good luck for him , gotta do what’s best for him and is family 👍
— craig (@craig60623799) December 26, 2022
Wish him well and good luck in the NRL. His second spell at Wigan has been very underwhelming and this gives us some freedom under the SC to sign a top replacement
— David Beeston (@DavidBeeston) December 26, 2022
Meanwhile, a Saints fan admitted “they were sad to hear” about the move. You be the judge of whether it was sarcastic;
As a saints fan sad to hear this. You’ll have got a big fee and free’d up a lot of salary cap space for a player who in truth has been absolutely bang average since he came back
— ash (@ash18282378) December 26, 2022
One fan was left devastated by the news it seemed – perhaps it ruined Christmas:
Noooooooooo ffs
— Harry Lake (@harryl95) December 26, 2022
Another felt it was smart business especially as they received what the club described as “a significant fee”:
Good to see we've got a significant fee for him. On top of the underwhelming performances and large salary, this is a good result for all parties.
— Martin Buckley (@muttywhitedog) December 26, 2022
Many though don’t want to see Bateman return to Wigan if things don’t work out for him in the NRL over the next four years:
As plenty of people have pointed out, from a playing point of view, this isn’t a massive loss. But I don’t want to hear about how “he loves Wigan” when he clearly doesn’t. And when the inevitable happens in 12 months and he wants to come back, let’s not fall into that trap again!
— Graham McNeill (@gmcneill57) December 26, 2022
Just don't have him back if it doesn't work out
— Jason Yates (@jasonnlouise) December 26, 2022
Lastly, one fan was disappointed by the timing of the news, though there was not much Wigan could do about it.
They feared for fans who got Bateman’s name on the back of their shirts for Christmas but given that the squad numbers haven’t been released for this reason has safeguarded against this:
I think its terrible for the club to delay this news till after Christmas when they know lots of fans will have gotten batemans name on the back of their shirts. They say time and time again we did it in the interest of the club when will clubs learn there fans are the club
— paul cater (@wiganner) December 26, 2022
