John Bateman has confirmed that he will "honour" his contract with the Wests Tigers and return to the team next season, despite his future at the club continuing to be clouded in uncertainty.
Playing under Sam Burgess, Bateman featured in his first match for the Warrington Wolves over the weekend, but his return coincides with reports that he may not return to the Wests Tigers.
The English international is technically contracted to the club for the 2025 and 2026 seasons but understands that he is future is largely in the hands of the Tigers as they continue to rebuild their roster under the guise of CEO Shane Richardson.
Since arriving at the Wests Tigers, the second-rower's form has been well below par and has struggled to find consistency on both ends of the field.
He has also struggled to see eye-to-eye with head coach Benji Marshall, believing there is a different standard between the younger players and the veterans in the squad.
โI have a contract there. I have to honour my contract there,โ Bateman said.
โThey've given me an opportunity to obviously come over here and do what I do and I appreciate it from their end. Obviously it's a big thing.
โI've got two years there. I'm contracted for another two years. I'll have to see what gets said and what goes from there.โ
Confirmed to play the remainder of the season with the Warrington Wolves in the Super League, reports from The Daily Telegraph suggest that Bateman will unlikelyย return to the Wests Tigers for 2025 and see out the remainder of his contract.
Bateman's potential departure from the club would see him follow former teammates Stefano Utoikamanu (Melbourne Storm), Junior Tupou (The Dolphins), Jake Simpkin (Manly Sea Eagles), Asu Kepaoa and Isaiah Papali'i (Penrith Panthers) out of the door.
This follows reports fromย Fox Sports' Paul Crawley stating that he will eventually end up at the South Sydney Rabbitohs under Wayne Bennett.
The Rabbitohs are in the midst of revamping their own squad and have some cash to splash after releasing Damien Cookย from the remainder of his playing contract to theย St George Illawarra Dragons.
