John Bateman has no plans to return to Wigan Warriors any time soon

He is under contract with Canberra until the end of 2021 but after 12 matches, has already asked his agent to speak to the club about extending his deal.

The 25-year-old says has no plans to leave the Raiders - ruling out the prospect of him returning to Wigan, certainly in the near-future.

"I think for me personally it's the best football I've played and that's a big part of coming here and what Canberra has done for me," Bateman told NRL.com.

"That's why I want to stay.

"A few people have asked me about (citizenship). It's one of those things I'd definitely be interested in looking into."

When his move from Wigan to Cannberra was confirmed, there was one surprise to the open-secret – Wigan saying he had signed a marquee deal to return. He was even quoted in their statement saying: “Although I’m sad to be leaving the Warriors, it’s great to know I’ll be returning here in a couple of years.”

Bateman later clarified his position, telling the Wigan Observer: “We had a mutual agreement that if I want to come back to Super League, Wigan would get first choice and that (marquee contract) would be the wage bracket we’d be talking about.

"I probably would want to finish my career here, but there’s nothing concrete agreed that I’ll be coming back in two or three years."