‘I haven’t heard from Tigers in seven months’: Bateman breaks silence on ugly split

“I didn’t hear from anyone once I got to England about coming back.

“I didn’t hear anything when I was signed [by the Cowboys] in the pre-season.

“When I went to England, I didn’t speak to anyone [at the Tigers] after that. It’s pretty bizarre.”

Bateman had to delay his arrival at the Tigers for the start of the 2023 season due to visa issues. Last year, he underwent ankle surgery – part of his plantaris muscle was removed – which hindered his preparations again.

Apart from losing, Bateman was concerned about the development of the Tigers’ younger players, saying: “I wanted the kids to learn. They have a great bunch of kids there. At times, I didn’t feel like they were learning how I wanted them to learn, and I wanted them to get better.

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“I refer back to [former Tigers halfback] Luke Brooks. The period I thought Brooksy should have been playing State of Origin and for Australia, he got caught in that trap of being there, and he didn’t pick anything else up, and he was made the scapegoat for years and years.

“I got a bit of that [feeling like the scapegoat] last year, but we move on. I never regret anything. I wish the club all the best. I still have a lot of good mates at that club.”

Bateman says he feels the “best I’ve felt in five years”, and will start on the right edge at the Cowboys and be given the job of protecting rookie halfback Tom Duffy.

Cowboys coach Todd Payten said of Bateman’s signing: “Straight away we could see the class in him. His competitive nature has also rubbed off on our guys. We knew we were getting a 31-year-old who had played a lot of footy; we might have to manipulate his [training] days and weeks … but I can’t speak highly enough of him.”