I have been moaning that we are light in the pack for a while, so I am not going to complain when we import Bateman to patch up one of the holes. Yes he is close to the end of his career, and no he is unlikely to light up the field of play with sparkling breaks. But he has a vast amount of experience and know-how and he should certainly give us a much better chance in the play-off's. As has been said, he could also pass on a lot of tips and advice to our upcoming Academy players, so all in all it's a thumbs up for me.
That leaves the possibility of him continuing his stay into 2025 dependant on form, and perhaps Wests coughing up some cash to seal the deal. That would certainly put up a barrier to our Academy prospects coming through, but there again, we will always have injuries and I certainly don't think Burgess can go into 2025 with the equivalent level of pack experience that we have seen this year. Tough decision, unless of course Burgess really only wants him for the play-offs.

I like him but his form as been very mixed last couple of seasons.

I think he’s a confidence player.
Very good or very poor.
Might go well under Sam.

I disagree. Oledzki has been useless for a few years. Not sure what the hype is about personally. Our bar should be set higher than this.

Totally agree, very overrated never punched his weight

I wouldn’t put him down as the ‘pack leader’ we’re going to need to replace Vaughan. Probably a better option than Musgrove though I’d say as bench prop - though I’d prefer someone with more impact.