John Bateman: On-loan forward wants to help Warrington to Super League title

Despite the circumstances over his return to England, just 18 months into his Wests career, Bateman is still under contract with the NRL club.

The England forward joins Warrington for the tail end of an impressive season under Burgess, with the Wire in the frame at the top of Super League.

“The biggest thing I’ve considered is my family. My partner is from Australia and is over there at the moment with my little fella, so that’s a big thing,” he said.

“Her head fell off, I’ll be honest, because it was mentioned on Tuesday and then I was booking flights.

“It was coming to terms with that but once that was sorted, I was ready to go.”

Bateman is under contract with Wests for the 2025 and 2026 seasons and is adamant that he will not yet be returning to England on a permanent basis.

“I have to honour my contract there, they’ve given me the opportunity to come over here and I appreciate it’s a big thing,” Bateman added.

“We didn’t have much to play for over there so that’s probably why they were more than keen for me to do it.

“I’ve got two years left and we’ll have to see what’s said. I don’t know about their end but on my end I’ve got a house over there so I’ll be going back.”