John Bateman’s first appearance in a Wests Tigers jersey was one of the bright spots of their defeat to the Canterbury Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon at Belmore, with the Englishman putting in a solid hit out and almost pulling off a superb solo try.
His arrival back in Australia after transferring from Wigan has been met with constant chatter about his fitness, with Bateman sitting out the first two rounds due to problems ‘acclimatising’ to Australia. Many had suggested that there was another reason, with an ankle injury rumoured to be the cause of his absence.
But, according to the man himself, it was simply a case of not having trained a pre-season like the rest of the league.
“I felt good,” said the England international in the sheds after his debut.
“I literally got over three weeks ago so I’ve just tried to acclimatise and get to know the boys and the plays. It’s still a little bit scratchy out there for myself.
“I probably don’t know half of the plays and how the boys play so I’m just getting used to it and acclimatising.
“Quite a lot of people have been saying ‘he’s injured blah, blah, blah’ but I think those people have never done a pre-season.
“A three-week pre-season isn’t good for anyone. If I’d have played the first week and got injured then everyone would have been saying ‘why did you play so early?’ To be fair, it’s a long season so it’s about going out there and playing your best.
“It’s pretty hard. Different people play differently. I play a lot differently to people so it’s about understanding people. That’s the hard thing.
“We’re building combinations and I probably had my first proper week this week at training where I was actually doing things without being flogged.”
Indeed, Bateman was rushed into action a week early after Isaiah Papali’i was suspended, with next week’s trip to Melbourne having been the planned debut date.
He added that he hadn’t watched much NRL in his time back in England, and didn’t miss Australia while away. That said, he jumped at the chance to return when Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens came calling late last year.
“I wouldn’t say I got homesick because I don’t class it as home,” said the backrower.
“I didn’t really watch it (the NRL). I made the decision to leave because I didn’t see my family for 12 months. It was my decision to go back home to see my family because like anyone at the time, no one knew what was going on in the world.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
“My family weren’t allowed to come back to Australia so I had to make a decision.
“The opportunity for the Wests Tigers to bring me out here (motivated me) and I feel like I play my best rugby out here because the game probably suits me a little bit more.
“I just wanted to come back with the Wests Tigers because I liked what Sheensy was talking about with what he wanted to build. When you get here you realise how big the club is, and we need to go places.
“Sheensy and the backroom staff and what they do for the club, that’s what we want to do. We need to go places and we need to build on that. I wouldn’t say there’s pressure. Pressure comes with anything, but to me, it’s about enjoyment.”
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