Bateman insists he’s yet to make a call on whether to move to NRL

John Bateman insists he’s not yet made what he believes could be one of the biggest decisions of his life so far.

The Wigan forward has a clause in his existing contract with the Warriors by where he can leave the Super League side at the end of this season and join the NRL.

Several Australian sides are understood to be interested in Bateman, who was impressive on Friday night as Shaun Wane’s side defeated Leeds to solidify their spot in second.

But Bateman told League Express he will sit down and hold talks with the club before deciding if an NRL move for 2019 is a realistic possibility.

“No, not yet,” he said when asked if he’d decided what he would do.

“I’m going to speak to Wigan at the right time and go from there. I’ll assess everything and see what my options are and see what’s out there.

“I’ve got a family to think about and the decision has to be right for them as well as me – you can’t rush a decision like this. It’ll be one of the biggest calls of my life, but it’s a nice decision to have to make. It’ll sort itself out.”

Meanwhile, Bateman believes that Wigan’s two recent victories over Leeds and Catalans have sent a message to Super League about the Warriors’ ability to play for the full 80 minutes.

He said: “It’s always tough to come to Leeds and you know you’ll be tested, but we’ve proven recently that we’re fit enough and conditioned enough to play for the whole game – and that’s got us out of the holes we’ve found ourselves in against Catalans and Leeds.

“As soon as we got that first try, the belief raised massively. These are big wins, and four points which keeps us on St Helens’ toes.”

Bateman also admitted their error-ridden win at Leeds on Friday was not helped by the quality of the Rhino balls used in Super League, as the topic once again comes into discussion.

He said: “The ball was a nightmare and it was dead slippy – the pitch was a bit greasy but the ball was something else.

“Playing at the beginning of the season in Australia with a Steeden ball is massively different to these Rhino balls. It’s like a bar of soap once conditions get a little bit greasy.”