I think he would make a great long term replacement for Lockers at LF. Bateman has good hands and I'm sure he could learn enough to be able to put the odd kick in. I think he is creative enough to play there and his size probably suits that more than SR.

I've been worried about how we would replace Lockers when he retires (which hopefully is still a couple more years away at least if SW keeps looking after this special player), but I think we've found the man.

We've got some very good prospects at the club but Bateman is already a top SL player and I suspect there is a lot more to come. A very good signing indeed and the abuse he is getting in some quarters already shows that the opposition are worried about him.

He has a fantastic passing game. I recall the first time I saw him play, it was for England Academy against AIS (2010/11?), he was comfortably man of the match.

I wouldn't worry about him being O'Loughlin's replacement, I would say he has a better, more natural passing game than O'Louglin already.

Did Wigan get a six figure sum for Hansen? A great bit of business if true.

His passing game is nowhere near SOL ATM, what on earth are you watching? It's hyperbole like this that makes me cringe at times.

I cant see this at all. My only criticism of Bateman is precisely that he doesnt pass and stiffles our attack on the right at times by not passing when he should. He also sometimes gets in the way instead of being a dummy runner as Farrell does on the left and as Hansen used to but hopefully that is just him getting used to our systems. To compare his passing to O'Loughlin's is an insult to O'Loughlin.

I haven't seen him play this season. The last time I saw him play was when he was being used as a battering ram at Bradford, which was criminal.

Trust me when I say he is a better ball player than O'Loughlin. The game I am referring to against AIS he was the most natural ball player on the pitch, AIS included.

La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la Bate Man.

He's turning out to be great signing, just glad Wire didn't get their paws on him when he was rumoured to be going there. Our best player this season along with McIlorum and Taylor.

The Yorkshire Musketeers

Obviously not to the high level he plays today but most of his junior career he played at stand off, and at 16 he came into our first team played a game off the bench at full back and was fantastic then started the next game at stand off and took Heworth to shreds. Not an easy thing for a 16 year old to do at conference level.

FWIW after watching him while at Bradford and keep tabs on him at Wigan - and hearing glowing reports from Wigan fans at work - the key thing he has picked up is consistency. He's dropped weight and switched sides since moving to Wigan, but in 2012 - when he was awarded Young Player of the Year - and the once or twice he wasn't broken last year he was playing just as well as he is now.

I'd sit with his grandad and from what he was saying when administration mk1 was happening there were offers from 3-4 NRL clubs, that will only increase I reckon. I think, no matter which club he plays for, he was always going to make it and probably make it very big. I for one was gutted when he left, I still am, he was living his dream but the financial fall-out put paid to that. Naymind, we still have Tom Olbison...!