He previously played for the Bradford, Wigan and Warrington in the Super League, and for the Canberra Raiders and Wests Tigers in the NRL.

In April 2011, at the age of 17 years and 208 days old Bateman made his Super League début starting at Lock for the Bradford Bulls in an 8–8 draw against Catalans Dragons.

He made two more first-team appearances towards the end of the season and scored his first Super League try against Wigan Warriors.

John scored against Hull Kingston Rovers (1 try), Catalans Dragons (1 try) Salford City Reds (1 try), Rochdale Hornets (1 try) and Wigan Warriors (1 try).

[citation needed] In November 2013, Bateman signed a three-year contract with Wigan Warriors for an undisclosed fee,[8] believed to be around £70,000.

In round 19 of the 2019 NRL season against the Penrith Panthers, Bateman scored a try in the dying minutes to seal a 30-18 victory for the visitors away from home.

Canberra staged an upset victory at AAMI Park winning 12-10 and securing a home preliminary final.

[20] Bateman played at second-row for Canberra in the 2019 NRL Grand Final as they were defeated 14-8 by the Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium.

[24] On 31 June, it was announced that he would be departing the Canberra Raiders at the end of the season, With NRL Club, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs And His former side, The Wigan Warriors interested in his services.

After the game had concluded, a visibly emotional Bateman thanked everyone at Canberra and stated it would be hard to leave the club.

The incident was not reported to the police and the matter was sorted behind closed doors but the story came to light after Scott's termination by the Canberra club.

[27] In round 20 of the 2021 Super League season, Bateman was sent to the sin bin twice in Wigan's 26-2 loss against St Helens.

[28] In the 2022 semi-final, Bateman was sent off for a dangerous high tackle on former teammate Aiden Sezer during the club's shock defeat to Leeds.

[29] On 26 December, Bateman left Wigan to sign a four-year deal with the NRL club Wests Tigers for 2023.

[30] In round 3 of the 2023 NRL season, Bateman made his long-awaited club debut for the Wests Tigers in their 26-22 loss against Canterbury at Belmore Sports Ground.

[33] On 14 May 2024, it was announced that Bateman would miss up to 8-10 weeks with a pectoral injury which he suffered during the clubs narrow loss to Newcastle in round 10 of the 2024 NRL season.

[36] On 18 December 2024, Bateman was released by the Wests Tigers, signing a two-year contract with the North Queensland Cowboys.

After an outstanding Super League 2015 season, Bateman was selected in the senior England team for their test series against New Zealand.