Wigan Warriors have confirmed that in-form forward and England squad member John Bateman has signed a new contract with the club.
The deal will keep Bateman at Wigan until at least the end of November 2018 – but potentially until 12 months late, too.
The new deal allows Bateman the option to play in the NRL from 2019 – with corresponding transfer fee and return provisions to Wigan if he so chooses.
One of the rising young stars of English Rugby League, Bateman has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of Super League and capped a fine season by winning both the Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year awards at the Wigan Warriors Awards Dinner on Monday evening and by being selected for the England Squad against New Zealand in the Autumn International Series.
The former Dudley Hill amateur made his professional debut in 2011 for Bradford Bulls aged just 17 before signing for the Wigan Club as a bright young prospect in 2014. He made 29 appearances in his first year with Wigan and 31 appearances in 2015 including his second consecutive Grand Final appearance for Wigan against Leeds on Saturday evening in front of a 73,000 sell-out Old Trafford crowd.
Bateman said: “I’m really happy to have signed a new deal commiting my future to Wigan. It was a big decision for me to come here when I did a couple of years ago but I have loved every second of it.Playing alongside established international forwards like Liam Farrell, Joel Tomkins and Sean O’Loughlin has helped develop my game.
“I was delighted to be named Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year earlier this week and look forward to working even harder now to move onto that next level.”