Sheens to play long game with Bateman ahead of season opener

John Bateman will finally arrive to Australia this week to join his new Wests Tigers teammates but coach Tim Sheens said there will be no rush to play the England star in Round 1.

Bateman has endured a frustrating two months with visa delays forcing him to remain in the northern hemisphere and train on his own after signing a four-year deal with the club in December.

The former Raider got the green light last week to fly to Sydney and begin his second stint in the NRL but Sheens told reporters on Sunday he is unlikely to be unveiled against the Titans at Leichhardt Oval.

“We’ll just let him settle down, it’s a long-term contract and I know everyone wants to get away to a good start but I’m not going to make a decision on that until he gets here,” Sheens said.

“We’ll have a talk and he’ll get around with us. He doesn’t know the players to any great degree or know the plays and he hasn’t done the conditioning that we have.

“We’ve had a tremendous pre-season, the staff have worked extremely hard and we’ve trained for almost four days a week in those [humid] conditions.”

Sheens wasn’t getting carried away with the side’s impressive 36-4 win over the Raiders on Sunday, reminding everyone they let in 48 points a week earlier with a more inexperienced outfit.

New recruits Isaiah Papali’i, who Sheens said asked to play on the left edge in 2023, and prop David Klemmer, got through plenty of minutes in their first outings while several outside back put their hands up for selection in the opening round.

The biggest selection headache though will come at fullback with Daine Laurie and Charlie Staines both solid in their final hit-outs of the pre-season.

“All they did [on Sunday] was give me a tough task,” Sheens said of the pair.

“The coaching staff and myself will sit down this week and sort out a few things with injuries, get a game plan ready. The players will have three days off and will come back and get ready for Leichhardt.”

Sheens said Ken Maumalo had injured the same knee as last season and wasn’t expected to be available for the opening rounds with the likes of Staines or Junior Tupou a possible replacement on the wing.

Tupou was dominant on the left edge with two tries, while he set up a long-range effort for Asu Kepaoa in the second half.

“When he grows up and realises how good he can be, he’ll be something,” Sheens said of Tupou.

“He’s a 105kg winger and can still play Flegg, we’ve got a good number of 20-year-old kids here and in 2-3 more pre-seasons we’ll have quite a squad built on that group.”