PERHAPS we should have listened more closely to Sam Burgess last week…

When asked whether Luke Yates would be Warrington Wolves’ only mid-season addition, he said “we’ll see.”

The wry smile with which he answered that question suggested something may have been in the works, and now we know that was definitely the case.

That being said, the move to bring John Bateman to the club is one that still caught pretty much everyone by surprise.

It is one that has sent shockwaves through Super League and demonstrates that, having got themselves into a fantastic position, The Wire are determined to make it count and make 2024 a year that will be remembered forever in these parts.

And while it may have caught everyone off-guard, it is a move that appears to make sense.

On his day, Bateman is one of the best players in his position in the game - and that position is one in which The Wire are not exactly blessed with much depth.

With Lachlan Fitzgibbon struggling with a shoulder issue having also recently had minor surgery on his back, Matty Nicholson and Adam Holroyd are currently the men in possession of edge-forward spots and they are doing a fine job.

Beyond them, however, it would be a case of playing people out of position or bringing in inexperienced youngsters and while that is something Sam Burgess has shown he is far from averse to doing, the opportunity to shore up a key area of the field with a player of Bateman's quality is surely a no-brainer.

What is clear on both sides, however, is that this is a short-term arrangement.

While Warrington are in the market for a back-rower for 2025 to supplement the impending loss of Nicholson to the NRL, that will not be Bateman.

The player himself is seemingly determined to make a success of his second spell in Australia while the club are conscious of hindering Holroyd's development into the regular first-team second-rower they feel he can become.

And for the next few months, Holroyd will clearly learn plenty from a player as vastly experienced as Bateman - someone with whom, stylistically, he shares a lot of common ground.

Both are on the smaller side for pack men but are energetic and tigerish with the way they play, particularly in defence.

There is certainly a lot of "the John Batemans" about Holroyd, so what could be better for his growth than having the man himself around in the short-term?

So on the face of it at least, it looks as though Warrington have got the best of both worlds but now, all eyes will be on how the move works out in practice.

Bateman has been brought in for one reason and one reason only - to play a big role in getting Wire to and over the line in the big games that are set to come at the end of the year.

The platform has been laid and now, he is here to help add the finishing touches.