Raiders legend Laurie Daley says John Bateman is not worth the $800,000-a-season the Bulldogs are reportedly offering as the feisty Englishman eyes an upgraded deal for next year.
After hogging the headlines in the build-up to last year's grand final, Bateman is once again at the centre of the rugby league conversation due to renewed speculation over his contract.
Last week Bateman furiously rebuked Fox Sports' chief NRL reporter James Hooper over a report claiming the star second rower had asked four times to be released from his deal with the Raiders.
Bateman denies that he's ever asked for a release, pointing to a clause in his contract that allows him to renegotiate with the Raiders on an annual basis.
However, it has since been confirmed by Raiders CEO Don Furner that Bateman was free to seek a better deal from other clubs for 2021 and beyond.
The Bulldogs have bolted into pole position with NRL.com reporting that Canterbury would formally register their interest in Bateman by the end of the week.
It is understood that the asking price to get a deal across the line will be in the $800,000 ball park - a $200,000 increase on Bateman's current salary - and Daley said that was too much to pay for the qualities that the 26-year-old brings.
"I said to a mate of mine who's a Bulldogs supporter, you already have John Bateman there. Josh Jackson is a John Bateman," Daley told Sky Sports Radio's The Big Sports Breakfast.
"Me personally, I'd be looking for a more damaging back-rower, someone who's more explosive.
"You'd look at the financial situation at the club and you'd try and manoeuvre it to pay him a little more.
"I don't pay him $800,000, $650,000 would be the cut-off. I couldn't pay $800,000 for him.
"He's a great player, but when I'm paying $800,000 I want someone who's going to bring something a little different to what John's going to bring to the team."
Wherever Bateman ends up the messy way in which his future is being resolved doesn't sit well with everyone in the rugby league community.
Bateman resorted to personal insults of Hooper on Twitter after he saw the story that was published on foxsports.com.au last week and it's not the first time the tone of the conversation has got nasty.
While there's been robust reporting of his contract negotiations, Raiders players and officials have remained publicly supportive of last year's Dally M Second-rower of the Year.
In fact, in The Sydney Morning Herald report last week, Furner said that if Bateman could secure a better deal he would "drive him there myself."
Nine News reporter Danny Weidler has done some digging into the Raiders' response and he claimed on The Big Sports Breakfast that the club was reluctant to do anything that might alienate the other Englishmen at the club.
"I think the Raiders have been very careful in what they're doing, I've been trying to figure out why they've been so passive in the whole situation and I can only think that they're worried if they upset John Bateman, that the other Englishmen (Josh Hodgson, Elliott Whitehead, Ryan Sutton and George Williams) who are on contract at that club … that they don't want to get the whole group off-side," Weidler said.
"I can only think that is the reasoning behind it.
"The Raiders have been very reasonable, they haven't played hardball, they could say: 'you're not going anywhere, see your contract out, stuff you'. Instead they've been quite reasonable about the whole negotiation which has been handled poorly on Bateman's behalf.
" ... I think the Raiders are playing it as well as they can. I had a chat to Ricky [Stuart] and he said this won't affect us, he's got a very strong mindset about this team and a big emphasis on the culture that they have been working on and I can't see Ricky letting it creep into the team.
"It's up to Bateman to be a professional, more professional than how his manager (Isaac Moses) has been in handling the negotiations."
from WWOS http://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/raiders-legend-laurie-daley-john-bateman-salary/56251f0a-88d0-48dd-a558-d94015b6141b
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