The phone call which led Bateman to returning home

These were the seven simple, heartfelt, honest, long-distance, precious words which left star Raiders import John Bateman no option but to sign a four-year contract with Wigan.

As the 26-year-old battled to recover from two shoulder operations and debate swirled around his playing future, the Raiders enforcer asked for the one opinion that means more to him in this world than any other.

He phoned his 10-year-old daughter Millie.

"I just said to her 'what do you want sweetheart'?" Bateman told the Canberra Times.

"When she told me that on the phone, I literally made the decision. I worked out the contract with Wigan.

"It were always going to be a challenge coming over here and leaving her. The older she gets, the more input she gets in what she wants to do.

"This year's took a toll on her as well, she's not been able to go to school, she's not been able to spend time with her friends. It's hard going to school as a child, transitioning into being a teenager, it's hard enough anyway never mind your dad being on the other side of the world."

Bateman hasn't hugged his little girl since January, and won't get the chance to until November. She was due to visit in March, and again at this time of year, but the COVID-19 pandemic has cruelly curtailed those plans.

Ahead of Saturday's clash with Brisbane where the Raiders will wear custom-made Black Dog Institute jerseys to raise money for the charity, the hard man from Bradford spoke openly about the struggles he's endured throughout 2020 which he labels the "toughest year" of his life.

The virus curtailed his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery leading to a second operation, and Bateman's contract situation opened him up to unsanitary attacks on social media.

At times he feared his rugby league career was over, so slow was the recovery in his shoulder. But underpinning it all was the unbridgeable physical gulf between him and his family.

"There were times where I'd reach out to Mum and I'm getting upset on the phone and she looks at herself, she's living on the other side of the world and she can't do anything about it," Bateman said.

"My Granddad back home as well he's not too well. I worried about what can happen to my Granddad.

"My girlfriend's from Canberra, if she wasn't by my side it would be a lot worse if I'm honest. At times I'd come home, I'd openly cry to her not knowing with my shoulder, the fact of not knowing for me was really scary.

"People look at me as John Bateman the bloke who runs out on the field and tries to smash blokes every week and wants to win.

"But you're still the John Bateman that's a son, you're still the John Bateman that's a brother, you're still the John Bateman that's a dad, a boyfriend. People don't look at that side, especially in professional sports, people look at you and put you on a pedestal and put you high up.

"I'm still that kid that started playing rugby when I were eight year old."

Bateman returned to the field two weeks ago against the Cowboys, and his shoulder survived. After full time, he grabbed his phone from the dressing shed, walked back out to the interchange bench and made a phone call to his mother.

MORE RAIDERS NEWS

More than six months of pent up emotion spilled out of him as Bateman realised he'd successfully endured the hardest sideline stint of his career.

His focus now is to go one step better than last year and deliver a premiership to the club he has fallen in love with.

"I've loved every minute here, if I'm totally honest I didn't look at the other options in staying in the NRL cos Canberra's the only place I wanted to be," Bateman said.

"You get certain fans that hated me two months ago but then when I came back and played against Cowboys, they loved me. That's sport in a nutshell for you."