'Jump on him': Ex-Bulldogs player lodges $4m lawsuit over training ...
Bulldogs forward Jackson Topine has reportedly launched legal proceedings against the club after claiming he was formed to endure “unlawful corporal punishment” for being late to training.
The Australian has revealed details of the $4 million lawsuit lodged with the NSW Supreme Court in an explosive series of reports on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old’s legal team claims its client was subjected to “assault” and “humiliation”which ultimately led to him taking mental health leave.
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‘Deprivation of liberty’: Broken Bulldog puts club on trial
Topine was reportedly forced to wrestle every member of the Bulldogs squad because he arrived late to training, with Canterbury’s Head of Performance, Travis Touma inciting the punishment.
The rising star, who had played 16 NRL games at the time, was forced to endure “shark bait” with “30 to 35” of his teammates watching on after they were called back to the wrestling mats.
The events occurred on July 18 2023, and according to the statement lodged to the courts, Topine suffered: “psychiatric injury, deprivation of liberty, humiliation, indignity, physical exhaustion, physical discomfort, anxiety, embarrassment and fear” after the session.
“It is claimed teammates tried to help Topine but were told by Touma things like “Don’t let him up. If he’s down, jump on him straight away!” ... and “don’t congratulate him or help him. He deserved that. He was f..king late.”
“As a result of completing the performance of all wrestling match-ups required under the wrestling direction, (Topine) required assistance in performing limited physical functions, including, standing and walking,” the court statement read.
Topine reportedly “seemed fine” when he left training but began to cry when he entered his home in front of his girlfriend and his parents.
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Topine arriving at training late reportedly came down to a misunderstanding, with the club’s training schedule including “arrive/strapping 8am” and “wrestle 8.30am”.
He arrived ahead of the scheduled 8:30am session and was forced to endure the full-squad wrestling session at around 10am at the wrestling dojo at Smeaton Grange.
Head coach Cameron Ciraldo and club supremo Phil Gould are reportedly likely to be central figures in the looming court proceedings.
When the story broke last season, Ciraldo defended the training methods used by the club, saying: “We’ve gone through a range of different ways of talking about holding standards”.
“Some of that’s been monetary related, some of it’s been spinning a wheel and then some of that’s been trying to find ways to change behaviours.
“The reality is we need to change behaviours here, and I think we’ve done a good job of that throughout the season. And I feel really sorry for the fans that we are where we are.
“It doesn’t seem like we’ve taken steps forward this year on the same wins as last year. We definitely haven’t taken steps back.”
