Factfile

Position: Forward / Centre
Date of birth: 30/09/1993
Heritage number: 1056
Previous club: Canberra Raiders
Representative honours: Great Britain, England
Wigan Debut: vs Sydney Roosters (A), interchange, lost 36-14 at the Allianz Stadium, Sydney, 22/02/2014.

Honours

Challenge Cup: 2022
World Club Challenge: 2017
Super League: 2016, 2018 GFs
Super League Dream Team: 2018
Dally M Second Rower of the Year: 2019

Profile

A proven and respected performer in both hemispheres – after leaving Wigan for two years to play in the NRL, Bateman returned and re-signed for the Warriors ahead of the 2021 season on a four-year deal.

• Born in 1993, Bateman started playing Rugby League for amateur club Bradford Dudley Hill.
• He went on to join his hometown club, Bradford Bulls, where he made 35 appearances and scored nine tries between 2011 and 2013. Incidentally, his first Super League try came against Wigan in 2011.
• In 2014, he joined Wigan and made his debut against Sydney Roosters in the World Club Challenge.
• In his five years at the Club, Bateman went on to make 132 appearances for the Warriors – scoring 35 tries.
• Between 2014 and 2018, Bateman became a double Super League Grand Final (2016 and 2018) winner and was part of the historic 2017 World Club Challenge winning team that beat Cronulla Sharks.
• The second row was named in the 2018 Super League Dream Team and was shortlisted for the 2018 Steve Prescott Man of Steel. At Wigan’s End of Season Dinner, Bateman was awarded the Players’ Player of the Year and Player of the Year.
• In 2019, he joined NRL side Canberra Raiders and went on to play 23 games – winning 17 of those, scoring five tries and making 820 tackles overall.
• The forward inspired Canberra to the 2019 NRL Grand Final where he played at second row against Sydney Roosters.
• At the end of 2019, Bateman was named the Dally M second row of the year and was shortlisted for the 2019 Golden Boot – the only British nominee for the award.
• Internationally, the 27-year-old has represented England 17 times – including games at the 2017 and 2022 World Cups. Bateman represented Great Britain for the first time in the 2019 Lions Tour of New Zealand and Papua New Guinea – playing in all four games and scoring one try.
• On 3rd July 2020 it was announced that Bateman would return to England for a second stint with Wigan, signing on a four-year deal.
• In his first season back in Cherry & White (2021), Bateman made 19 appearances.
• In October 2021, Bateman captained England as they faced France.
• In 2022, Bateman secured his first Challenge Cup win against the Huddersfield Giants at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
• Bateman made 23 appearances in 2022, scoring 4 tries.
• The forward was selected in the England squad for the Rugby League World Cup 2021 and got an assist in his first group game against France at the University of Bolton Stadium.
• Bateman also featured in England’s group game against Greece, as well as their Quarter Final against Papua New Guinea.
• The front rower also started for England in their RLWC2021 Semi Final defeat against Samoa, scoring a second half try.