Ask English international John Bateman what he has learned during his stint as captain of Wests Tigers and the star forward bluntly replies: “It is s***, losing”.
Bateman has won Super League premierships with Wigan and played for Canberra in the 2019 NRL grand final for Canberra so the thought of finishing the season with the wooden spoon doesn’t sit well with him – as Wests Tigers players can testify.
With St George Illawarra sitting just two points above bottom-placed Wests Tigers on the NRL ladder, Bateman has laid down the law to his teammates ahead of Thursday night’s match against the Dragons at WIN Stadium.
“It has been tough times, we haven’t been able to get a win and for me, if you watch me week in and week out, I am pretty competitive. I want to go there and get the win,” Bateman said.
“The last couple of weeks have not been acceptable from a playing standard, and as a club, so it is a massive, massive game for us this week.
“The Dragons are just above us and no doubt about it, no one wants to finish bottom of the league, so we need to go out there and get the win this week.”
The 29-year-old, who captained Wests Tigers in the absence of hooker Api Koroisau, said he had “never” won the wooden spoon, adding: “And I don’t want to win one either”.
“I came here to win and if you go through the dressing room everyone else wants to win, as well,” Bateman said.
I don’t really care how we win, I just want to win.
Wests Tigers forward John Bateman
Former Junior Kangaroos representative Shawn Blore, who has overcome back-to-back knee reconstructions to play 10 NRL matches this season, said the players had spoken about wanting to avoid the wooden spoon.
While there has been speculation about off-field issues at the club, Blore said Bateman had left the players in no doubt about the importance of beating the Dragons on Thursday night.
“We sort of come together and said let’s focus on us and what we can control, and what we can control is this week and doing our best,” Blore said.
“It is a massive week for us, John was very vocal about that. It is definitely a pride thing, and we are putting all of our energy into this week.”
Despite Wests Tigers having won just three matches so far this season, Bateman said he had learned more about leadership during the tough period the club has endured.
As a senior player in a young squad Bateman has had to help ensure the atmosphere within the group remained positive.
“You can’t afford to be walking around kicking stones,” he said. “I have dipped in and out of captaincy throughout my career but being captain when Api got injured or when Api is there has been good.
Bateman haunts the old club
“You learn quite a lot during times of adversity, and it has been good. I have probably learned the most this year, about myself and about the game.
“You have got to keep moving forward, you can’t look in the past because there is nothing you can do about it. It’s about this week and I’m looking forward to Thursday’s game.”
After returning to the NRL from Wigan this season, Bateman recently travelled home to England to visit his 13-year-old daughter Millie when Wests Tigers had bye in round 17.
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Bateman said the time away was just one example of how the club had supported him and he was enjoying the move to Sydney with his partner and their baby son.
I just went to see the family. It just breaks it up for me. I hadn’t seen the little girl for a while, so it was good to go back," Bateman said. "Family is a massive thing for everyone and I had to go back and see them.
“We are settled here, the club has been fantastic since we got here and my partner and little fellow have all settled in so they have looked us after us massively."