He would however offer very good quality rotation and squad depth when required.

Still have to pinch myself at times only 12 months ago we were the leagues patsy and basically hull kr plundered our squad, never thought I’d see tj playing in a Wakefield jersey again. We are signing players from clubs that actually want to keep them. Its a hell of a jump to being a mid table super league team but we’ve come a long way in a very short space of time

I'm the same.
Though to be honest we've never been a mid table team.
We were a bottom half team who occasionally managed to get to the top of the bottom half group but was mostly lower down.

I know we are aiming for playoffs etc but for me, confidently being around 6-7 is a good target.
We are not going to instantly win everything in SL but I'd like to consistently compete to do so.

That's how I see it as well. However, I don't think we could complain if we ended up with Pratt, Thornley, Hall and Scott next year. We'd have plenty of depth and it would allow us to manage Thornley's game time.

Yep

John Bateman being offered to SL clubs. Wests maybe willing to pay a percentage.

I know his Wigan stint wasn’t great but he would be a quality addition in a position we badly need some quality.

Got a good 3 years in him.

Wonder if we will be interested.

I could only imagine if we were to get Bateman and recent rumours of Hastings. That would be more than I expected.

I’ll get my head out of the clouds but he’s worth a look imo.

Bateman would be a great fit. Massive improvement to the area of the pack that is likely to need replacing next year.

If we are spending the cap too then why can’t we have a squad as good as Wigan/saints/catalans etc?

That has to be the aim so I’d imagine there is scope for some quality to come in.

Well Wigan develop a lot of their own for one thing so have access to those players.
After that it's about sourcing good players for the right price and convincing them to come to Wakefield.

You can spend the same as Wigan by getting players like Kevin Proctor but you won't beat them.

Bateman had better be willing to take a pay cut. He earns about £300,000 a year. God knows how much Hastings is going to want.

They say Wests will pay some of his wage so might be an option.

No thank you to Bateman.

Bateman falls into the category of good player but not a person I like...

I agree, but I'm not asking him round for tea.

It depends on how Powell sees him as a person. Like Gale said in his podcast, we've recruited good people as well as players. Can Bateman fit in that. Not sure really.

Am I missing something with Bateman?

Second stint at Wigan wasn’t all that but he’d definitely be one of the better SR’s in the league even at 31. A seasoned SL player averaging way over 20 games a year.

Place he’s from isn’t the nicest but I haven’t seen anything terrible in the media like you have with Hardaker over the years. Does he have that sort of history?

I remember him having quite a few fights with different teammates over the years, both here and down under. Wigan fans will know better than me but it's a theme that used to get talked about on their forum regularly, as well as when it's made the RL news.

Didn’t he have a fight with Lee Mossop after Haydock races, plus the police were called to a gym incident but can’t remember if it was the same evening

It’s good to finally have the finances to dream about the players we want to sign but we must be cautious and not follow the Salford strategy created by the owner of trying to buy for the sake of it. I am sure the current back room staff and ME will not fall into the same trap because how many times have I read on here that you cannot buy success.

He was involved in a nasty incident with another player but it's years ago perhaps he's grown up now.

Hastings would be a cracking 3rd signing. Adding to TJ and Mckmeeken and then adding a good 5/6 solid quality SL players of the right quality could really see Trinity have a good return to SL in 2025.

Still hoping the Storton rumour is good. Saw him a few times and like the look of him.

Yep that was ten years ago, nothing serious since.

If we are turning our noses up at the likes of Bateman than I seriously think some of our fans have lost their grasp on reality. He’s only 30, tough as hell, and a game breaker.

I agree, he’s not going to be busting tackles and scoring 10 + a season but he will be a very good experienced player to have with a good 2/3 years left in him. He’d certainly be the right standard to help push into playoffs if that’s where we are aiming in our debut return season to SL.

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Quote ="BarnsleyGull"Reckon it could be one or both of the Senior brothers.....'" As I suspected at Cas........ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-leagu ... 33g4vv8x9o

100% this. A lot of fans are getting carried away with themselves big time. If someone would have linked Bateman with Wakefield Trinity a year ago, you would have been laughed out of the room quicker than you could say Timmysmithsatroll.

The fact now that there is a small chance that we are even in this conversation shows where we are at, Bateman is a brilliant player, tough as nails and more important than anything is a winner, if we had the chance to get him I'd 100% go for it.

Where is this Hastings talk coming from? He`s under contract, are Newcastle wanting rid?