John Bateman #268

Benji has got me more excited this week then I have in a long time. I love he has stood up to the senior guys.
Hell yeah. Bateman has been shit since he's been here and can't handle being told he isn't aiming up. He can say all he wants that the senior players aren't getting treated with respect but let's face it, the experienced players are shit and aren't showing any respect for the jersey or the fans with their P hearted performances. The young players need to aim up obviously but at least their excuse is 'lack if experience'. In saying that, no one should be protected from a spray if it's deserved. We have a soft culture and Bateman can piss off back to England and play like shit in the cold. Hope he doesn't come back.
 
look, Benji was peeved at our Senior players and their performance….especially our captain Bateman who should be setting a good example…Benji has Also realised what a dub buy Bateman has been and will do what he can do move him on rather than carry him for another 2 years…so to answer your question 100% Benji pushed his buttons to the point he walked….good…
Smart move if your right. Saves the club having to muck about.
 
No way Superleague can afford to pay him $700k a year to him …

Anyway know enough to estimate what they can afford to pay him and how much money the Tigers could save over the next two years?
 
No way Superleague can afford to pay him $700k a year to him …

Anyway know enough to estimate what they can afford to pay him and how much money the Tigers could save over the next two years?
The irony here is that we moved Hastings on because of his supposed feud with Bateman, yet now it’s turned out to be the head coach who has got involved in his exit. Makes me smile !( not that we’ve missed anything without Hastings).
I can’t see him coming back, especially if Benji stays, and all these dressing room stories are true !
Just mo but the usual way to handle these things is one on one, and privately, not in a group situation. Now I can imagine Benji was angry and frustrated after what’s been happening but you’ve gotta try and keep your cool in front of the group.
But then again, it’s all hearsay, so we don’t know exactly what happened. And in retrospect it may turn out for the best.
 
Bateman has been on a downhill trajectory for some years. Any thought that he would regain his Canberra form after a middling few seasons in the inferior Super League was deluded.

While his public spat with Benji is a further source of embarassment for the club, if he decides to abandon his contract now it will be a huge win in the long run.
There was a poster on here (forget his name) who was living in Pomland and was telling anyone who’d listen that Bates was sliding downwards faster than a runaway toboggan. I remember I was saying he would be good and he set me straight saying his last 2 years over there terrible.
What annoys me is our professional club can’t see what old mate forum poster could. And to go with that the club should have know that due to travel restrictions that year and international commitments the following year, Bates was not gunna get a preseason in until his 3rd season with us. I find this lack of forethought absolutely unprofessional, but not surprising, and I am pretty sure it was another desperate signing just to get a name to the club.
 
The irony here is that we moved Hastings on because of his supposed feud with Bateman, yet now it’s turned out to be the head coach who has got involved in his exit. Makes me smile !( not that we’ve missed anything without Hastings).
I can’t see him coming back, especially if Benji stays, and all these dressing room stories are true !
Just mo but the usual way to handle these things is one on one, and privately, not in a group situation. Now I can imagine Benji was angry and frustrated after what’s been happening but you’ve gotta try and keep your cool in front of the group.
But then again, it’s all hearsay, so we don’t know exactly what happened. And in retrospect it may turn out for the best.

Bateman probably won’t be back .. could be an awkward start to next preseason if he rocks up when they are trying to turn the page for 2025 …

Of course never is ever simple ….the Band-Aid cant just be ripped off ..so the story can drag on in the media for months , until whichever team over there agrees to pay half the salary he is owed the next two years …
 
There was a poster on here (forget his name) who was living in Pomland and was telling anyone who’d listen that Bates was sliding downwards faster than a runaway toboggan. I remember I was saying he would be good and he set me straight saying his last 2 years over there terrible.
What annoys me is our professional club can’t see what old mate forum poster could. And to go with that the club should have know that due to travel restrictions that year and international commitments the following year, Bates was not gunna get a preseason in until his 3rd season with us.

our professional club …meaning Sheens..

He made the call on this one… he was over there too so should have seen his demise ..
 
He was the final domino that had to fall into place....for what exactly was never explained.

of course ..even getting him here couldn’t be straight forward …he had a personality problem with Hastings ..resulting in having to move him on … which left them without depth in the halves and they ended up stuck with Brandon Wakeham most of last year …
 
I think he’s talking about those that are staying.
Maybe time to take off the rose coloured glasses MT.
We all want the place to be better, it’s just right now it ain’t !

Rofl rose colored glasses?

I don’t agree with Gordy because he throws out a crap statement with nothing backing it - most who have left and are leaving have progressed. Those who are coming already have a name, those who are staying have been here for years anyway.

Mate I have been bagging the crap at how bad our club and more importantly the roster is.

At start of the year said we would struggle to win more games and move up the ladder this year.

Right now our roster next year is worse than the roster this season. Picking up Knights rejects or swapping Stefano for Hunt (as some have a hankering for) won’t solve that. Having $2m war chest doesn’t get you much either in todays market.
 
I don't think Bateman was a problem, to be honest.

In the same breath, if he doesn't come back, I don't think it overly impacts the club either. The drop off from Bateman to Seyfarth isn't that significant anymore.
The NRL does not allow a team to be successful unless both edge back rowers run the ball well enough and/or hard enough to regularly break tackles and at least threaten to make line breaks.
Thankfully we are now generally getting this on the left with Sam Fainu, but we desperately need an attacking threat on our right edge.
For whatever reason the attacking game of Bateman has disintegrated over the past couple of years and not likely to ever return.
 
There was a poster on here (forget his name) who was living in Pomland and was telling anyone who’d listen that Bates was sliding downwards faster than a runaway toboggan. I remember I was saying he would be good and he set me straight saying his last 2 years over there terrible.
What annoys me is our professional club can’t see what old mate forum poster could. And to go with that the club should have know that due to travel restrictions that year and international commitments the following year, Bates was not gunna get a preseason in until his 3rd season with us. I find this lack of forethought absolutely unprofessional, but not surprising, and I am pretty sure it was another desperate signing just to get a name to the club.

The wisdom of Tim Sheens prevailed so we spent a fortune on a lemon for 4 years which included a 250k transfer fee.I can only hope that the lemon decides to play in the UK from here because their is no NRL club that would sign him.The good news is the lemon breaks all his contracts,lets hope he does it again
 
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