More detail needed but seems a fairly weak case:
- ‘Unlawful corporal punishment’ - er, OK - is that what you call being smashed in the NRL?
- $4m damages - no chance, probably firing a shot across the bow to see what the club might quietly settle for (which would be a fraction of $4m).
- Likely trying to embarrass the club somewhat.
- No current player will want to speak unless they are subpoenaed, so Topine’s lawyers will likely approach former players such as RFM.
- Is there any CCTV for evidence?
- The big question that will be tested is how would Topine play 80min of NRL if he believes 30min wrestling is ‘unlawful’ or ‘harsh’? If this is about testing employment contracts well he was employed to play a contact sport. It’s not outside the bounds of the work.
Good luck to the kid but this smells like a bit of an ambulance chase and our improvement ‘24 v ‘23 shows that tough training is exactly how you get there.