It’s safe to say the topic of John Bateman has always been a heavily debated one.
Be it an alleged fracas which resulted in an eight-week internal suspension at Wigan Warriors back in 2016, an altercation with Curtis Scott in 2021 or falling out with Wests Tigers in 2024 – Bateman has found a way to make headlines for his off-field behaviour.
What happened to John Bateman?
But for much of his career his on-field performances have never been in question. Really since he started playing professional rugby league in 2011 as an 18-year-old, Bateman has just been relentless. Always there for a tough carry, always there to provide a ferocious tackle. Brutal in both aspects of the game. Playing well above his size and weight. A Paul Gallen light but in the second row.
John Bateman training with England ahead of the first Ashes Test vs Australia. (SWpix)
A mix of the fallout at Wests and a move to a North Queensland Cowboys side, which has let’s be frank played poorly this year, has skewed some of the thinking around his qualities on the field.
It has led to a real debate over his on-field ability on both sides of the world, with his underwhelming loan stint at Warrington Wolves last year doing nothing to encourage belief in the back rower in the Northern Hemisphere.
And in Australia, a recent social media post on Bateman amid his England selection for the Ashes Tests with Australia has stirred up some serious debate among Aussies. Rather than the chaotic social media debate slagging every person and their dog off, we’ve picked out some of the sensible back and forths on Bateman this year, which perhaps highlight why there’s maybe something still left in the tank.
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Aussie fans debate John Bateman quality ahead of England v Australia
It was Fox League who posted on Facebook this week that Bateman had been described as a ‘bust’ this year with North Queensland, posting: “Didn’t have the desired effect in his first season in Townsville … struggled to make much of an impact in attack and he missed an average of nearly four tackles a game.”
This led to some Aussies agreeing with the opinion.
Shane Aston: Cowboys sign players like Bateman but cut players like Shibs, his younger brother and a group of other young up and coming forwards.
Jordan McLellan: He started off terrible but did improve. Lacks a bit of leg speed in defence which is a concern. Luki was out for the season so we needed someone and was still better than the next man up in Kai O’Donnell.
But Bateman had plenty of staunch backers. Many Aussie fans reached out to condemn the post and provided detailed information on why they thought the 32-year-old was actually a bright spot in an otherwise dark North Queensland season.
Jacee O’Brien: I disagree, he didn’t set the world on fire but he was consistent and did his job. Averaged 38 tackles at 91% tackle efficiency, 2.6 tackle breaks and an offload with 90m a game and had a bit of mongrel about him that the cowboys needed while only conceding 8 penalties. Didn’t help that he had 4 different halves next to him throughout the season so was unable to develop any combinations in attack.
Tim Canavan: I’m gonna disagree with you. Took him a while to get going but he had some mongrel in defense. A bunch of his missed tackles were him trying to recover other people’s errors.
Josh Alston: Oh really? Let’s take a look. John Bateman had a tackle efficiency rate of 91.2 per cent. He missed 19 tackles all season. Melbourne Storm grand finalist Harry Grant also missed 19. Is he a bust too? Bateman averaged 88 metres a game. Premiership-winning second-rower Brendan Piakura averaged 67. His tackle efficiency rate was 89.6 per cent. So he must be a major bust then? The Cowboys have a lot of issues his season, including a massive injury toll. Blaming Bateman, who put in every game he played, is poor form.
We could spend all day going through the responses defending Bateman but they all suggest he’s not had a ‘bust’ type of season.
‘Credit in the bank’
Look, this sounds like we’re making excuses here for Bateman and coach Shaun Wane whose ‘credit in the bank’ phrase has frustrated so many people. But the reality is Bateman is probably not as rubbish as people think he has been and maybe not quite as much of the superhero Wane thinks he is. Let’s just hope he does the job tomorrow and rolls back time a little bit. If not, ‘credit in the bank’ might start trending on X in the UK.
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