John Bateman #268

batboy said:
That's not true at all....
He had 1 good year at the Raiders, The 2nd was full of will he or won't he and a change of management I believe - Maybe after he discovered he was getting shorted.

He was really good in the WC games before he arrived....
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He was playing awful in the Super League before he came. In fact, that form was the only reason people were doubting the signing...they could see his form in real time and it wasn't good.
 
weststigers said:
He was playing awful in the Super League before he came. In fact, that form was the only reason people were doubting the signing...they could see his form in real time and it wasn't good.
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I didn't comment on his SL form.
I said he was good in the Internationals before he came, and he was.
 
Iron Fist said:
NRL pre-seasons are too long. The same teams who come back to training later in the year, or in the new year stay at the top. The same teams who say they're going to start earlier, train longer and harder than ever in the pre-season stay down the bottom, and burn out by May/June.
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100%.
Theres no need to flog the guys right throughout the heat of summer. Obviously they need to get fit and work on strength gains. However it seems very apparent that whatever we do during the pre season is not working.

I heard Mason talking about it on his Levels podcast. He stated that his career was lengthened because he missed the gruelling part of the preseason for 8 years in a row due to Kangaroo committments.
 
batboy said:
That's not true at all....
He had 1 good year at the Raiders, The 2nd was full of will he or won't he and a change of management I believe - Maybe after he discovered he was getting shorted.

He was really good in the WC games before he arrived....
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Now that is a matter of opinion.
 
batboy said:
I didn't comment on his SL form.
I said he was good in the Internationals before he came, and he was.
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And used it as the basis to prove your point that he was an astute signing.

His SL form was atrocious and that's the form we've been subject to. It's no surprise to me.

Many here, including me, were against it based on what he showed week to week.

If you judge players on international form, then let's get Tui Lolohea back?
 
Iron Fist said:
Half of the Penrith Panthers squad haven't returned to pre-season training before January in their premiership years. Must be why they've been diabolical.

Sure, it affects them early in the season in WCC and the early rounds of the premiership, but they sure don't look cooked and injured like WT do at the end of the season. They always manage to field their best 17 in finals and outlast their opponents.

NRL pre-seasons are too long. The same teams who come back to training later in the year, or in the new year stay at the top. The same teams who say they're going to start earlier, train longer and harder than ever in the pre-season stay down the bottom, and burn out by May/June.
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The continuity of the team, particularly in key positions is probably a more important factor here.

They didn't have premiership seasons because the squad had a shorter pre-season, they won in spite of having a shorter pre-season.

Aerobic and anaerobic conditioning takes months to develop. From a physiological standpoint, the pre-season is a good length.

But team and combination chemistry is just as, if not more important.

Penrith will feel that this coming season a little more than past years, where they've only had Api leaving as a key spine player to replace. Interesting to see how a shortened pre-season affects their combinations with a new five-eighth.
 
Kelce68 said:
Penrith will feel that this coming season a little more than past years, where they've only had Api leaving as a key spine player to replace. Interesting to see how a shortened pre-season affects their combinations with a new five-eighth.
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As with us.
 
I’m sorry, but I truly don’t see what he adds to a team, whether it be ours or England. Apart from the occasional offload, his temperament is a massive drawback, likely to leave his team short a man or constantly backpedaling through penalties. A shadow of his Canberra days.
 
innsaneink said:
Doesn't seem to fancy the collision/impact side of the game... Always crabbing across field, now if he was a half decent ball player I could understand it... But all he does is stunts the attack.
I'm sure that's not his role and been directed to play like that
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He was good for 20 matches, more than half a decade ago, so if you're in our football department, that means you make him a millionaire.
 
weststigers said:
And used it as the basis to prove your point that he was an astute signing.

His SL form was atrocious and that's the form we've been subject to. It's no surprise to me.

Many here, including me, were against it based on what he showed week to week.

If you judge players on international form, then let's get Tui Lolohea back?
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Anyone notice a pattern:

John Bateman's SL form was bad -> we signed him.
Aidan Sezer's SL form was bad -> we signed him.

I know we needed a halfback, BAD. But I also look at all this and go what were we thinking.
 
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innsaneink said:
Doesn't seem to fancy the collision/impact side of the game... Always crabbing across field, now if he was a half decent ball player I could understand it... But all he does is stunts the attack.
I'm sure that's not his role and been directed to play like that
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That's the mystery of Bateman isn't it?

We have Sheens + Benji + Api and the tigers trying to play fast footy. Bateman used to find those gaps and threaten the line. Now? Nothing other then regularly playing for 80 minutes.

Bateman should be crossing the line, he should be throwing passes and running gaps. He has Api to play off and people around him who want to see some dynamic play. A huge mistake letting Hastings go for him, although Hastings hasn't set the world on fire (he ain't all that. but at least turns up)

That's why I would be happy punting Bateman and keeping Klemmer. Klemmer tackles, runs and does stuff that a first grade forward does. He makes an impact, and if we remove him we replace him with a fringe-grader. Bateman will too be replaced by a fringe grader and getting another who plays 80 minutes will be hard.
 
Telltails said:
He has got risk written all over him given his player history both in terms of contracts and on the field. His best is/was great but he has definitely got the air of being a mercenary for good reason.
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Just thought I'd go back and look at a few comments about his initial signing.

Seems it was half-half.

This will be his third bad break-up in a row. Probably our 100th in 10 years.
 
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