Long way round: Why Tigers skipper will clock up 20,000km on trip to Townsville
By Christian Nicolussi
June 27, 2023 — 7.45pm
John Bateman will need to overcome nearly 20,000 kilometres worth of travel in just three days when Wests Tigers come up against North Queensland in Townsville on Saturday.
Bateman used the Tigers’ bye week to jet home to the north of England for a quick visit with family. He is expected back in the country early on Wednesday, which will give him Friday’s captain’s run to be ready for the Cowboys.
Visiting players have often struggled with the humidity at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, but Bateman could become the first player struck down by the effects of jet lag after completing the marathon journey from Bradford to Townsville via Sydney.
Bateman has improved each week for his new club since making his debut in round three – so much so that he was handed the captaincy while Api Koroisau and Luke Brooks overcome jaw and hamstring injuries respectively.
Tigers prop David Klemmer was backing the bleary-eyed Brit to shake off any travel hangover. “It will be a good little freshen-up for Johnny,” Klemmer said. “He’s been massive for us. He had the disrupted pre-season, but he needed a week away with his family.
“He’s just a goer, he’s a little firecracker who adds something different to us on and off the field. I love playing with him. He’ll be fresh and ready to go Saturday.”
Around the same time Bateman is adjusting to local time, assistant coach Benji Marshall is expected to meet Latu Fainu, the Sea Eagles youngster earmarked by the Tigers as the man to replace halfback Luke Brooks who has now attracted strong interest from the Dolphins.
There were whispers the Titans were also keen on luring the 18-year-old north, but it appears a race in two between the Tigers and Wayne Bennett’s newcomers.
Brooks announced on Monday he would be quitting his junior club after 11 seasons to join Manly on a four-year deal.
Who plays in the halves at the Tigers next year has now become a huge talking point, especially with Adam Doueihi no certainty to return from a knee injury at all in 2023.
Yet another new halves pairing, Daine Laurie and Brandon Wakeham, will be unveiled against the Cowboys, but both are off contract at the end of this season. The Tigers have already expressed interest in Cronulla’s Braydon Trindall, and have started to source options in the Super League.
Sam Walker’s off-the-cuff approach would work well under Marshall, but he is tied to the Sydney Roosters for another couple of seasons, while South Sydney’s Blake Taaffe, who is without a deal beyond this year – and is known as a fullback – won a Jersey Flegg grand final with the Bunnies as the starting halfback in 2019.
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Wakeham knows it is up to him to convince the Tigers he is worthy of a new deal, and is prepared to wait given he did not start with the club until January this year.
“I’m really enjoying my time, I feel like I can play direct and guide a team around the park, they’re my strengths, and hopefully I can showcase that the next few weeks,” Wakeham said.
A bleary-eyed John Bateman will have to overcome a gruelling travel schedule before the Tigers face the Cowboys in North Queensland.
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