BUBBLE TROUBLE
Warriors star Bateman: Lockdown rules in Australia were pretty strict and I spent a lot of time alone.. it’s great to be back home with family
LOCKDOWN life doesn’t seem so tough to returning Wigan hero John Bateman after spending seven months in the NRL’s unforgiving bubble.
The England international, who has rejoined the Warriors after standing toe- to- toe with Australia’s best at Canberra, spent over half of last year restricted to contact with his Raiders team-mates and his girlfriend.
Rules were so strict that, after a mid-season shoulder operation which saw him stay overnight at hospital, Bateman presumed he was temporarily outside the bubble and went to a cafe.
But when a fan took a picture of him and sent it to the club, Bateman had to quarantine for two weeks, was handed a £5,600 suspended fine and forced to front the NRL Integrity Unit.
It means that being back home with his family in Bradford and closer to 11-year-old daughter Millie has been easy after the latest restrictions in this country.
Bateman, 27, explained: “It was pretty full on in Australia. You were stuck by yourself for a long time and, as I was injured for a lot of the season, it was a long year.
“They had to do it to get the game up and running there, but it was tough.
“My family were supposed to be coming over in March and when the international travel ban kicked in, that took its toll on me – I knew I wanted to come back.”
The cafe incident was a measure of Bateman’s standing Down Under after a 2019 season that saw him voted the best back-rower in the competition.
From his is well- told story as a schoolboy dad to a combative on- f i e l d sty st y l e prominent nt from the moment nt he fe igned ed throwing a ball at an n opponent t on his N R L debut , the Australi aldi an media a took to
Bateman immediately. What that also meant was his long-term future was the subject of backpage headlines only a Premier League star would command here – attention he embraced. He said: “It got blown out of context massively. It got reported I’d asked for four releases and I can remember I was doing rehab in the gym and a Fox Sports notification popped up.
“There were ex-players saying, ‘He’s being greedy’ and one week there was a story every day.” Now Bateman is focused on a new start at Wigan, where he spent five successful seasons before heading f for Canberra. He has been b handed the club’s i iconic No.13 jersey, wo worn by only Sean O’Loughlin O’Lo and Andy F Farrell in the 25 ye years of Super Lea League.
B a t eman ( left) added: ““I haven’t h had all my trai training gear on with th that No. 13 – but w when I do, it will be surreal.”