Jackson Topine has reportedly dropped his $4million legal claim against the Canterbury Bulldogs, in which he had alleged that the club subjected him to a humiliating wrestling punishment after being late for a training session in 2023.
As part of the lawsuit, Topine claimed that he had allegedly been forced to wrestle up to 35 team-mates in quick succession as a punishment for being late to a 90-minute training session on July 18, 2023.
The Bulldogs had vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
Canterbury bosses stood by Topine’s sanction, which was issued by high-performance manager Travis Touma.
Topine alleged that Touma refused to end the punishment, despite the Canterbury second-row showing signs of distress and exhaustion.
As part of the claim, it was also alleged that Touma refused to let other players help Topine, with the 24-year-old said to have been so physically spent afterwards that he was unable to stand and walk without help.
Former Canterbury player Jackson Topine (right) has dropped a $4million law suit against his old club following talks with Adam Driussi
Mr Topine claimed in the civil suit that he had been allegedly forced to wrestle up to 35 team-mates in quick succession as a punishment for being late to a 90-minute training session on July 18, 2023
The club explained that it had lasted for six minutes and was ‘of-a-kind of disciplinary responses that is common among NRL clubs’.
‘The board unanimously agreed that it would vigorously defend the club and its employee Travis Touma, against the claim lodged today by a former player,’ Canterbury chairman Adam Driussi said.
Topine, who was 22 when the incident took place, subsequently issued the legal proceedings in which he claimed he had suffered humiliation, fear and psychiatric injury.
In his statement of claim, he said he had suffered ‘ongoing incapacity to play’. He added that the club should not have stopped paying his wages in November 2023.
He was seeking damages of around $4m, which were said to be based on the average wage of players across an NRL career span.
However, The Daily Telegraph now reports that the former Canterbury and Maori All-Stars player, who made 16 appearances for the Bulldogs between 2021 and 2023, has dropped the civil case.
Topine reportedly met with Bulldogs boss Driussi in December as the club looked to find a resolution to the matter.
The talks are believed to have played a major role in Topine’s decision to drop the case.
As part of the civil suit, he claimed that he suffered humiliation and psychiatric distress
Topine (top) would not play professional footy again, after he parted company with the Bulldogs in 2023
Bulldogs bosses will be breathing a sigh of relief that the unwanted distraction has been dropped just before the start of the new NRL season. The civil proceedings would have meant that some of the club’s biggest names would have been required to give evidence.
Coach Cameron Ciraldo and head of football Phil Gould would have been included.
Gould had backed the intensity of the training session, given that the club had been struggling in the league at the time.
‘We’re the worst team in the competition right now and have been for some time,’ Gould said on the Six Tackles With Gus podcast in August 2023.
‘The coach [Ciraldo] and the staff are certainly making no apologies for the intensity with which they train.’
Meanwhile, many of Topine’s former team-mates would have also been asked to take the stand.
The footy player was expected to issue subpoenas to give evidence to several players who have since left the club, including Raymond Faitala-Mariner, Jayden Okunbor and Chris Patolo.
Topine, who also captained NSW and Australian schoolboy sides, has not played professionally since.
