Canberra Raiders forward Luke Bateman has re-signed with the club on a one-year deal.
Bateman was off-contract at the end of this season but has signed a new one-year deal to keep him at the club until the end of the 2020 season.
A knee injury has forced Bateman to miss a large portion of the 2019 season, but he’s keen to add to his 71 NRL appearances.
Bateman said his love of the club and his passion for the Raiders has not waned despite his injury plagued season and he wants to work as hard as he can to be a part of the club in the future.
“Obviously I’ve had a disappointing season with injury which set me back and didn’t allow me to push my case for an NRL position, but I love this club and I’ve always said that and I’m happy to stay and keep working hard to try and get back into the NRL team,” Bateman said.
“My plan is to have a really big off-season and work as had as I can to get back into the NRL side. I’m not done with playing first grade and I want to be there where I can to help the club I love continue with their success.”
Bateman said he always wanted to remain with the Raiders and seeing the team having a successful season is something that motivates him into the future.
“I never wanted to go and play anywhere else, these guys are my mates and I’m loving seeing the success they are having this year,” he said. “It makes me hungry to get my body right and work as hard as I can to be a part of it in the future.
