I have been moaning that we are light in the pack for a while, so I am not going to complain when we import Bateman to patch up one of the holes. Yes he is close to the end of his career, and no he is unlikely to light up the field of play with sparkling breaks. But he has a vast amount of experience and know-how and he should certainly give us a much better chance in the play-off's. As has been said, he could also pass on a lot of tips and advice to our upcoming Academy players, so all in all it's a thumbs up for me.
That leaves the possibility of him continuing his stay into 2025 dependant on form, and perhaps Wests coughing up some cash to seal the deal. That would certainly put up a barrier to our Academy prospects coming through, but there again, we will always have injuries and I certainly don't think Burgess can go into 2025 with the equivalent level of pack experience that we have seen this year. Tough decision, unless of course Burgess really only wants him for the play-offs.

[quote="Crosswire":tlo7i8hw]How long is CTW signed for? If he is that good NRL and other SL clubs will no doubt be sniffing around.[/quote:tlo7i8hw] He has signed a contract with Wire, that expires at the end of the 2028 season :- https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/sp ... lves-deal/

[quote="Crosswire":tlo7i8hw]How long is CTW signed for? If he is that good NRL and other SL clubs will no doubt be sniffing around.[/quote:tlo7i8hw] He has signed a contract with Wire, that expires at the end of the 2028 season :- https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/sp ... lves-deal/

Think we are forgetting that CTW and Dufty don’t have kicking game unlike Leon and Oli Leyland.

[quote="Crosswire":aw9vuhfa]How long is CTW signed for? If he is that good NRL and other SL clubs will no doubt be sniffing around.[/quote:aw9vuhfa] Fortunately for us, full back is a position where there is an embarrasment of riches in the nrl. Plus, we're no longer the same club we were when Harris and Sculthorpe broke through and we were forced to sell. It's highly doubtful another super league club could prise him away from us.

Dufty ,you don't throw one of your best strike weapons away for a youngster who needs to be nurtured & eased into 1st team rugby & I'm .sure when CTW pulls on his own number 1 shirt he will explode onto the scene as a very competent player.

Reading on here it seems we are putting a lot of faith in Hayes who, after all, has played 11 1/2 games of top level RL.