Regarding Bateman's playing ability
He nailed the NRL in his first season over there and was a stand out player in that comp and could have stayed at the Raiders or have moved to another NRL side if he had wished to do so.
I applaud him for going over there to test himself in the NRL and I also understand why he want's to be back home closer to his daughter.
Wigan have got their man back but they're also paying Mega money for the privilege and on a 4 or 5 year deal too.
I would guess that he's either taking the majority of O'Loughlin's cap space (If he doesn't play on again next season) or some of Hastings and Gildart's too if they leave as predicted to the NRL in 2021.
In the current financial climate at the club then I would imagine that the Rhinos would never have even been in the bidding war to sign Bateman, even with the cap space available.