'I didn't hear from anyone'
www.nine.com.au
By wwos staff (ie: some AI thing)
'escaped goat'
Former Wests Tigers import and England international John Bateman believes he was made the scapegoat for the club's disappointing 2024 season.
Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Bateman said he initially intended to see out the balance of his Tigers contract, but revealed he hadn't heard from anyone at the club since July.
He was also critical of how long it took for coach Benji Marshall to publicly hose down reports of a falling out between the pair.
"I had all intentions of going back, [even though] the club may have had a different view on that," Bateman said.
"When I got to England, I was seeing all these stories [about my relationship with Marshall].
"I was pretty disappointed it wasn't shut down earlier by the club. Benji came out four months later to say we never had an argument, but that could have been shut down a lot earlier.
"I didn't have any blow-ups or an argument with Benji or anything like that.
"The last time I spoke to him, we had a chat about moving forward, about what we want, and the opportunity that Warrington had given me. That was the last time I spoke to him.
"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 was also sceptical of the club's junior development, and that he and Luke Brooks were made to be the scapegoat for disappointing on-field performances.
"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," he said.
"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 missed the Cowboys 50-8 trial thumping at the hands of the Dolphins on Friday night.
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