If it isn’t the drop bears it’s the spiders—and English forward John Bateman has the hospital stay to prove it.
The 31-year-old from Bradford has revealed more details after being bitten by a spider during a Cowboys training session in the lead-up to this season’s Round 6 match against South Sydney in Perth, spending four worrying nights in hospital.
“I think it (the spider) was on the field and it bit me on my leg, I wasn’t too sure what it was,” Bateman told NRL.com.
“I had a rough sleep, and I literally got rushed to hospital the next morning.”
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“I said to the doctor, ‘just make sure I’m ready for the game on Saturday’,” Bateman continued, but after blood tests the news was all bad.
“On the Friday morning (the doctor) came back in and he said, ‘mate, there is no chance of you playing, we’re just looking to save your leg’.”
“I got away in one piece but it was a real ‘welcome’ to Australia,” Bateman admitted.
Whilst, somewhat ironically, the incident happened in Perth—4,500km from Townsville—Bateman explained he is well aware of the dangers lurking in his current North Queensland home, particularly those in the water.
“Not a chance,” Bateman said of swimming at the local beach.
“We’ve got a pool in the garden so I'm pretty happy with that.”
Bateman joined the North Queensland Cowboys in 2025 following a two-year stint with the Wests Tigers, and also played 34 games for the Canberra Raiders.
After missing last weekend’s loss to the Dolphins in Brisbane through injury, the Englishman returns for the Cowboy’s Round 21 home clash with the St. George Illawarra Dragons.