"Unsure".
That was the word Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall used when asked whether English second-rower John Bateman would return to the club for 2025.
And that's not maybe as big of a surprise as it should be.
Bateman simply didn't work at the Tigers. Having previously been one of the better players at the Canberra Raiders during his first NRL stint - a stint which saw the green machine surprise the competition and make the NRL Grand Final in 2019 - he was touted as a super signing when he was picked up by the Tigers ahead of the 2023 campaign.
But it was one and a half years of a horror show for Bateman during his second stint at the Tigers.
As the team struggled to be competitive around him, Bateman did nothing to help the course. His involvements were poor at the best of times, and he brought none of the influence that he carried with him during his first NRL stint in Australia's capital city.
That led to him ultimately heading back to England at the end of the 2024 campaign on a short-term loan, and it was reported almost immediately that the Tigers would be more than comfortable to free up his salary cap and let him walk permanently.
That is yet to happen despite strong indications rival clubs - including the Manly Sea Eagles - were at one stage interested in the English international forward.
Ultimately, the Tigers are about to head into a new era, and it would be right to assume, based on what has been dished up so far, that they don't want Bateman back.
He was signed under a different administration, didn't work there, and didn't work for the new one either.
So that the head coach still has no idea whether Bateman is going to be at the club in 2025, while putting a dent in what they can do salary cap wise, is a good thing.
It's a good thing because the longer this goes on, seemingly, the less chance the forward has of returning to the Tigers, although Marshall also said the reports regarding him falling out with the forward are incorrect.
โI'm actually unsure, to be honest,โ Marshall replied when asked about Bateman's immediate future in black and gold.
โWhat I will say though is what's been reported about is false, I haven't had a falling out with John.
โI've had honest discussions and in-house discussions around where John's future is. Those discussions will remain private, but the things that have been reported are not true.โ
CEO Shane Richardson was even more blunt. His message? The ball is in Bateman's court.
โJohn's got a contract for next year. We honour every contract at the club, so if John wants to be here for the next two years, then he'll be here for the next two years. That's a decision between him and his manager,โ he was quoted as saying during the week at the same media conference where the Tigers confirmed Pepper Money as their major sponsor for the years to come.
โWe've got plans for what we want to do in the future and we want every players who wants to be a part of that. It's as simple as that.
โThat's up to John Bateman (if he wants to be here). I can't answer for John Bateman. I'd like to, but I can't.
โJohn knows that he's got a contract in place, his manager's made it clear he's got a contract in place. We knew when he went to England he had a contract in place. We'll deal with that as we get to it, but we'll deal with John Bateman on that, not you guys (the media).โ
What that all means is up in the air. That much is clear.
Bateman is absolutely no guarantee of returning to the club though. It's clear neither party are overly keen on it happening.
It's down to a matter of whether the Tigers can help him find a new home and get him off the books for 2025.
The joint-venture have signed a host of new players to go with a number of juniors who will be better for their first-grade runs in 2024.
Whether it's enough to get the club away from the bottom of the table is anyone's guess at this stage, but Bateman, whether he is part of it or not, is unlikely to have a prominent place at the Tigers unless he can improve in a hurry upon his return.
