‘An absolute freak’: Canberra’s ‘grubby’ Englishman who became a dad at 15
Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2019 9:57 pm
He is Canberra’s latest English recruit, who has been described as “grubby”, “a half gypsy” and a mix between James Graham and Anthony Watmough.
But now a former teammate has revealed the nickname given to John Bateman when he was making a name for himself at Bradford.
“They called him Papa John because he already had a young daughter,” said ex-team-mate and former Manly, Roosters and St George hooker Heath L’Estrange.
The new Raiders forward discovered in a maths lesson, aged 15, that he was to become a father for the first time.
He thought his life was ruined, but now daughter Millie is 9 and plans to visit him in the capital later this year.
Rather than let his daughter’s arrival halt his rise, the forward debuted for the Bulls at 17 and has not looked back.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-pr ... c9acff5598
But now a former teammate has revealed the nickname given to John Bateman when he was making a name for himself at Bradford.
“They called him Papa John because he already had a young daughter,” said ex-team-mate and former Manly, Roosters and St George hooker Heath L’Estrange.
The new Raiders forward discovered in a maths lesson, aged 15, that he was to become a father for the first time.
He thought his life was ruined, but now daughter Millie is 9 and plans to visit him in the capital later this year.
Rather than let his daughter’s arrival halt his rise, the forward debuted for the Bulls at 17 and has not looked back.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-pr ... c9acff5598