John Bateman says he will be ready to play his first game for Wests Tigers whenever he is called upon, as club officials weigh up how to manage his return to the NRL.
Bateman arrived in Australia from England this week after a two-month wait for his visa to be approved, and toured the Tigers facilities on Friday.
He will have his first full day of training on Monday when players return from a long weekend, six days out from the club's season-opener against Gold Coast.
Bateman last played in the NRL in 2020 and has spent the past two years with Wigan in the English Super League.
But after signing with the Tigers in December, he has been left to train on his own, with Tigers performance boss Peter Moussa sending programs for the player to complete.
That had left the Tigers concerned over his availability to play in the club's round-one match, unsure if he would be underdone.
But speaking on the club's website, Bateman said he felt fit and ready to go.
"I have been training by myself, but you can't do the team stuff," he said.
"I'm up for it and looking forward to getting going.
"(Coach Tim Sheens) has been sending me over some clips, I have been looking through them and some of the plays.
"I've just been keeping my eye on that and trying to keep on top of it and what we do in training.
"The last couple of weeks we have had games, so I've been able to keep an eye on that."
Bateman was one of the competition's best back-rowers during his two seasons at Canberra, as he helped the club to their first grand final in 15 years in 2019.
He left the club in 2020 but felt he had more to do in the NRL, and now links up with a Tigers pack that has also recruited David Klemmer, Isaiah Papali'i and Apisai Koroisau.
"Because of COVID I had to go back (to England), I hadn't seen my family in a year," the UK-born Bateman said.
"Everyone, like myself, just wanted to be around their loved ones.
"But I am really looking forward to getting back into it. I love the style of rugby that the NRL is, and I am really looking forward to the competing week in, week out of it.
"I went back to Wigan, and it was a good level of rugby, I really enjoyed it.
"But I wanted to come back to Wests Tigers."
