John Bateman #268

innsaneink said:
John Bateman has not spoken with Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall or any senior club official since his mid-season loan to Warrington last July.

Bateman also said he felt like he had been made the scapegoat for another disappointing Tigers’ season last year, and asked why the club took so long to publicly hose down reports he had spectacularly fallen out with Marshall.

The 31-year-old England international said he had every intention to return to Sydney and fulfil the final two years of his Tigers’ deal, only to sign with the North Queensland Cowboys before Christmas.

Bateman said he had no regrets about his two years at the Tigers, but was also glad to see the back of Sydney.

“I had all intentions of going back, [even though] the club may have had a different view on that,” Bateman told this masthead on Friday.

“When I got to England, I was seeing all these stories [about my relationship with Marshall].

“I was pretty disappointed it wasn’t shut down earlier by the club – Benji came out four months later to say we never had an argument, but that could have been shut down a lot earlier.

“I didn’t have any blow-ups or an argument with Benji or anything like that.

“The last time I spoke to him, we had a chat about moving forward, about what we want, and the opportunity that Warrington had given me. That was the last time I spoke to him.

“I didn’t hear from anyone once I got to England about coming back

I didn’t hear anything when I was signed [by the Cowboys] in the pre-season.

“When I went to England, I didn’t speak to anyone [at the Tigers] after that. It’s pretty bizarre.”

Bateman had to delay his arrival at the Tigers for the start of the 2023 season because of visa issues. Last year, he had to undergo ankle surgery – part of his plantaris muscle had to be removed – which hindered his preparations again.

Apart from losing, Bateman was concerned about the development of the younger players, and said: “I wanted the kids to learn, they have a great bunch of kids there. At times, I didn’t feel like they were learning how I wanted them to learn, and I wanted them to get better.

“I refer back to [former Tigers’ halfback] Luke Brooks. The period I thought ‘Brooksy’ should have been playing State of Origin and for Australia, he got caught in that trap of being there, and he didn’t pick anything else up, and he was made the scapegoat for years and years.

“I got a bit of that last year. But we move on. I never regret anything. I wish the club all the best. I still have a lot of good mates at that club.”

Bateman feels the “best I’ve felt in five years”, will start on the right edge at the Cowboys, and be given the job of protecting rookie halfback Tom Duffy.

Cowboys coach Todd Payten said of Bateman’s signing: “Straight away we could see the class in him. His competitive nature has also rubbed off on our guys. We knew we were getting a 31-year-old who had played a lot of footy, we might have to manipulate his [training] days and weeks … but I can’t speak highly enough of him.”


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That's a very one-sided attempt at "journalism" there...not one I'd put my house on.

Reads like a 5 year old with chocolate cake all over his face saying he never ate any of the missing cake.
 
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Demps said:
I think that narrative came from the media.

Hooper probably loved recounting that tale.
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It goes to show the power of the media: it's natural to default to believing what you see and read, and when you are passionate about something it can be very evocative.

I confess that I got worked up because I read a few places about something that might not have even happened (didn't according to Bateman)...
 
TurnStyle said:
It goes to show the power of the media: it's natural to default to believing what you see and read, and when you are passionate about something it can be very evocative.

I confess that I got worked up because I read a few places about something that might not have even happened (didn't according to Bateman)...
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Yeah good post very true

Two sides to every story and similarly the reactions, even as we are seeing this morning
 
Demps said:
Anything for a headline.

Benji and Robbie had to defend their supposed beef for years which the media pushed.
Heard both deny it multiple times.
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And there true feeling for each other was on display when Robbie's mum passed, Benji was seen crying at the beginning of the game, they were good mates at the time.
 
Rock Hopper Steve said:
Did you want him to stay Tuck, thought his form was pretty ordinary 2nd half of last season considering the price tag.
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I thought his form was down. No doubt about it. The effort was there though.
I thought the narrative that he was a toxic influence on the playing group was bang out of line and without substance bar for some on here who attempted to convince the fanbase (successfully I might add).
Additionally, the narrative that his ill discipline cost us games is easily refuted.
He wasnt great for us but I must again state that no one was. Our best player last year was a 6/10 over the whole season and thats being very generous.
 
Whilst this article is purely from Batemans side of things is anyone not concerned by this:

Apart from losing, Bateman was concerned about the development of the younger players, and said: “I wanted the kids to learn, they have a great bunch of kids there. At times, I didn’t feel like they were learning how I wanted them to learn, and I wanted them to get better.

“I refer back to [former Tigers’ halfback] Luke Brooks. The period I thought ‘Brooksy’ should have been playing State of Origin and for Australia, he got caught in that trap of being there, and he didn’t pick anything else up, and he was made the scapegoat for years and years.

Forgetting the last part is referring to Brooks, the inference is very clear about lack of development. I hope this has been rectified.
 
Furious1 said:
Whilst this article is purely from Batemans side of things is anyone not concerned by this:

Apart from losing, Bateman was concerned about the development of the younger players, and said: “I wanted the kids to learn, they have a great bunch of kids there. At times, I didn’t feel like they were learning how I wanted them to learn, and I wanted them to get better.

“I refer back to [former Tigers’ halfback] Luke Brooks. The period I thought ‘Brooksy’ should have been playing State of Origin and for Australia, he got caught in that trap of being there, and he didn’t pick anything else up, and he was made the scapegoat for years and years.

Forgetting the last part is referring to Brooks, the inference is very clear about lack of development. I hope this has been rectified.
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How long ago did Bateman say that?
 
Tucker said:
I thought his form was down. No doubt about it. The effort was there though.
I thought the narrative that he was a toxic influence on the playing group was bang out of line and without substance bar for some on here who attempted to convince the fanbase (successfully I might add).
Additionally, the narrative that his ill discipline cost us games is easily refuted.
He wasnt great for us but I must again state that no one was. Our best player last year was a 6/10 over the whole season and thats being very generous.
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Thought Sam Fainu might have scored a little bit higher than that, last year is gone now if he plays right side and brains it, we will have egg on our faces especially if ours is ordinary, the Seyfarth extension better pay dividends or we will be open to ridicule from the media again.
 
Furious1 said:
Whilst this article is purely from Batemans side of things is anyone not concerned by this:

Apart from losing, Bateman was concerned about the development of the younger players, and said: “I wanted the kids to learn, they have a great bunch of kids there. At times, I didn’t feel like they were learning how I wanted them to learn, and I wanted them to get better.

“I refer back to [former Tigers’ halfback] Luke Brooks. The period I thought ‘Brooksy’ should have been playing State of Origin and for Australia, he got caught in that trap of being there, and he didn’t pick anything else up, and he was made the scapegoat for years and years.

Forgetting the last part is referring to Brooks, the inference is very clear about lack of development. I hope this has been rectified.
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I think that is quite obviously a reason that some parents are concerned about their son's career should they remain here.
It is a suspected issue, based on recent player movements and words that holds more weight when those from within the system mention it.
I hope we are really working on alleviating the concerns.
 
Only we would loose Blore because we had this brain dead nut and fat trucker Papalii ahead of him and then end up losing them too and now as a result have zero depth in our edges smh
 
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