John Bateman (born 30 September 1993) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as {{rlp|sr|lf}} and {{rlp|ce}} for the Canberra Raiders in the NRL.^[2][3] Bateman made his England test début against France in October 2015.

Bateman signed for the Wigan Warriors in November 2013 from the Bradford Bulls. He will join the Canberra Raiders ahead of the 2019 National Rugby League season. His daughter is Millie, and the Godfather is John Booth. ^[5]

Background

Bateman was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. He played his junior rugby league for Bradford Dudley Hill before being signed by hometown professional side the Bradford Bulls.

Playing career

Bradford

2011 season

In April 2011, he made his Super League début for the Bradford Bulls in an 8–8 draw against Catalans Dragons.^[6] In May 2011, he made his first Challenge Cup appearance for the club against Halifax. He made two more first team appearances towards the end of the season, and scored his first Super League try against Wigan Warriors.^[7]

2012 season

Bateman featured in Round 1 (Catalans Dragons). He missed Rounds 2–3 due to injury. He featured in six consecutive games from Round 4 (Wakefield Trinity) to Round 9 (Hull F.C.). Bateman was suspended for Round 10 and 11. John returned in Round 12 (Huddersfield Giants). Bateman was suspended for Rounds 13–14. He returned to play in six consecutive games from Round 15 (Leeds Rhinos) to Round 20 (London Broncos). Bateman missed Rounds 21–24 due to England Academy commitments. Bateman returned for Round 25 (Huddersfield Giants). John was injured for Rounds 26–27. He featured in the Challenge Cup against Doncaster and Warrington Wolves. Bateman scored against Hull F.C. (1 try), Doncaster (1 try) and Castleford Tigers (1 try).

In 2012 Bateman was awarded the Albert Goldthorpe Rookie if the Year Medal.^[8] He was reportedly in talks with Warrington Wolves and National Rugby League clubs, Wests Tigers and Newcastle Knights,^[9][10] but chose to stay with Bradford.

2013 season

In the off-season Bateman signed a 3 Year Extension on his current deal and this will keep him at Odsal until 2015.

He missed Rounds 1–6 due to an injury. He featured in four consecutive games from Round 7 (Hull Kingston Rovers) to Round 10 (Salford City Reds). John missed Round 11–12 due to an injury. He featured in Round 13 (Warrington Wolves) but was subject to a groin injury keeping him out of Round 14. John returned for Round 15 (Salford City Reds) but missed Round 16 but returned in Round 17 (Hull Kingston Rovers) to Round 22 (Hull F.C.). John missed the rest of the season due to surgery on his ankle. Bateman featured in the Challenge Cup against Rochdale Hornets and London Broncos. John scored against Hull Kingston Rovers (1 try), Catalans Dragons (1 try) Salford City Reds (1 try), Rochdale Hornets (1 try) and Wigan Warriors (1 try).

Wigan

In November 2013, Bateman signed a three-year contract with Wigan Warriors for an undisclosed fee,^[11] believed to be around £70,000.^[12]

2014

Bateman featured in the World Club Challenge against Sydney Roosters. He featured in Round 2 (Castleford Tigers) to Round 15 (Huddersfield Giants) then in Round 18 (St. Helens) to Round 23 (Salford City Reds). John next played in Round 25 (Widnes Vikings) to Round 27 (Warrington Wolves). Bateman played in Round 5 (Hunslet) to the Quarter Final (Castleford Tigers) in the Challenge Cup. John played in the Qualifying Playoff (Huddersfield Giants). He scored against Wakefield Trinity (1 try), the Bradford Bulls (1 try), Salford City Reds (1 try) and London Broncos (1 try).

2015

Bateman played in the World Club Series against Brisbane Broncos. Bateman featured in Round 1 (Widnes Vikings) to Round 9 (Salford City Reds) then in Round 11 (Warrington Wolves) to Round 19 (Salford City Reds). He also played in Round 21 (Leeds Rhinos) to Super Eight 6 (St. Helens) then in the Semi Final (Huddersfield Giants) to the Grand Final (Leeds Rhinos). Bateman played in the Challenge Cup in Round 6 (Hull Kingston Rovers). He scored against Huddersfield Giants (4 tries), Hull F.C. (2 tries), Leeds Rhinos (1 try) and Warrington Wolves (2 tries).

2016

Bateman featured in Round 1 (Catalans Dragons) to Round 8 (Hull Kingston Rovers) then in Round 11 (Castleford Tigers) to Round 12 (Huddersfield Giants). He featured in the World Club Series against Brisbane Broncos. He scored against Hull F.C. (1 try), Leeds Rhinos (1 try), Castleford Tigers (2 tries) and Huddersfield Giants (1 try). On 31 May 2016, Wigan confirmed they were investigating an "alleged fracas" between two Wigan players which took place outside of a gym on 27 May,^[13] and speculation grew that Bateman was linked to the controversy following his omission from the squad against Salford City Reds and Hull Kingston Rovers.^[14] On 15 June 2016, Bateman was fined £10,000 and suspended for eight weeks for his involvement in the incident.^[15]

2018

Bateman signed with the Canberra Raiders for two years, with a third year option in his favour, on August the 8th. He will be moving out to Canberra with daughter Millie, close friend and God father John Booth.^[5]

Statistics

Representative career

In 2012, Bateman was named captain of the England Academy squad to tour Australia.

After an outstanding Super League 2015 season, Bateman was selected in the senior England team for their test series against New Zealand. Bateman made his début for England in a test match, before the series, against France which saw Bateman score two tries in England's rout of their opponents. For his outstanding efforts in the game, Bateman was awarded man-of-the-match.^[16]

In October 2016, Bateman was selected in the England 24-man squad for the 2016 Four Nations.

References

External links

• Wigan Warriors profile
• Statistics at rugby-league.com
• Statistics at rlwc2017.com