BATE ’N SWITCH
Warriors angling for old boy John
ENGLAND star John Bateman has sparked a race for his signature by confirming he is leaving Canberra Raiders.
Former club Wigan Warriors are among a host of interested parties after the 26-year-old effectively became a free agent from November.
He will not see out the final season of his three-year contract in Canberra after months of speculation and negotiations.
Bateman became one of the hottest properties in the game after his rookie campaign in the NRL when he was named Dally M Second Rower of the Year as the Raiders made the Grand Final.
His future became the subject of intense interest when it emerged that he was looking at options away from Canberra.
Yesterday the club confirmed he will be released from the final year of his contract and Wigan are understood to be among three clubs – alongside Canterbury Bulldogs and St George Illawarra Dragons – to have tabled offers.
Bateman could earn more by staying in Australia but has a young daughter in this country.
He has yet to play this season (below) due to shoulder problems that could rule him out until the closing weeks of the campaign.
Bateman said: “I’m doing everything I can to make sure I get back on the field as soon as possible and finish my last season with the Raiders on a high.”
Bateman’s England teammate Luke Thompson, 25, has now started his career at the Bulldogs after completing two weeks in Australian quarantine following his mid-season switch from St Helens.
Thompson’s replacement at Saints, James Graham, has also formally confirmed his return to the club from the Dragons for the rest of the 2020 season.
Chairman Eamonn Mcmanus said: “I told James when he left us in 2011 that we wished him nothing but success in his career and in his life and that there would always be a red carpet waiting for him if ever he returned to St Helens. I never for one moment expected to roll it out, but it will be an absolute pleasure to do so.
“James won a Grand Final with St Helens in 2006. A second has very painfully evaded him since then.
“It would indeed be a fitting ending for one of the greatest players in the history of our club if he manages to sign off the season with another champions’ ring.”