Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Football
Netball
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Bateman reveals how he narrowly avoided amputation
Nicholas Quinlan • July 25th, 2025 5:51 pm
North Queensland’s John Bateman has revealed that he almost had one of his legs amputated after being bitten by a spider.
Having spent the last two seasons at the Wests Tigers after his initial stint at the Raiders back in 2019/20, the second rower joined the Cowboys at the start of the year.
Despite having some difficulties acclimatising to the warmer weather in Townsville, Bateman would find himself in the starting line-up for the first five rounds.
However, in North Queensland’s lead-up to their Round 6 clash against South Sydney in Perth, Bateman would be bitten on his left leg by a spider during a training session.
“I think it (the spider) was on the field, and it bit me on my leg. I wasn’t too sure what it was. I’ve never had to worry about that before,” Bateman told NRL.com.
“I had a rough sleep on Wednesday night, and I literally got rushed to hospital on Thursday morning.
“It was pretty bad. I was just hot and cold, and my leg from above my knee to beneath my ankle went all red, so I was pretty worried.
“But when I got into the hospital, I just said to the doctor, ‘Just make sure I’m ready for the game on Saturday’.
“Then on the Friday morning he came back in, because they had taken bloods, and he said, ‘mate, there is no chance of you playing, we’re just looking to save your leg’.”
Bateman was able to pull through the bite unscathed and would make his return to the field the following fortnight.
Reflecting on the situation, Bateman admitted it was a moment that reminded him how dangerous the Aussie outback is.
“I got away in one piece, but it was a real ‘welcome to Australia’, put it that way,” he noted.
Since then, Bateman has played in eight games, having been in and out of the side as the Cowboys sit 13th on the ladder.
The Englishmen will be back in action this week for the first time since Round 18 when the Cowboys take on the Dragons.
They will face off at Queensland Country Bank Stadium with kick-off at 6pm AEST.
SEN will have live coverage of the game from 5pm across its radio network and on the SEN App.
