News Jackson Topine takes Bulldogs to court

[Bluebody]

I have one question. If you are exhausted and spent - because you pushed and pushed with wrestling - the last several players are pretty much falling on a player absolutely spent with nothing left. You can't wrestle someone who has submitted and has no resistance. So it is very confusing to me what was actually unfolding there. I wonder how much Topine's ego was bruised more than his body and he wants to humiliate the Club because he refused to learn from his humiliation.

 

[Alan79]

He will respond shortly lol

He specifically asked that I tag him when I see things like this. Had to oblige.

 

[Alan79]

Firstly, I appreciate you tagging me into this conversation @Alan79

Too often sexual comments are directed at others without including me, which is greatly disappointing from my side.

I really need to draw the line here.

The whipping and banging in the arse was consensual. The complaints were made about the pouring of hot wax on the gentile area, which in retrospect was perhaps a step too far.

However, the whipping and banging in the arse was so successful that we actually introduced it as our prematch warmup.

I had a mate talk me into playing some touch footy when I was 35. I protested that I wasn't fit enough. I was told if I look tired the coach will pull me off. I told him I'd play. Last time I played a team sport they just gave us oranges. Player welfare has drastically improved if hand jobs are in the table to combat fatigue.

 

[The DoggFather]

Yeah fair play. But maybe thats why society is so shit. I was brought up if you haven't got something nice to say, STFU. So why do people have to comment? Especially when the 'facts' are whatever you read in the rags.

Guess it gets clicks.

Bingo!

 

[belmore_utd]

U mean Kikau and Thompson in the forwards? Half?

So we just used 36 players for shits and giggles?

 

[Kaz]

So - just out of curiosity - how come when Liam Knight was late for training he just had to dye his hair white?

Some teams have chocolate wheels. (not real chocolate ) & have the different punishnents written in it. Where the wheel stops is the punishment.

 

[Kaz]

We'll never hear that. For players to speak out against a past player is a really bad thing imo and the club will definitely not allow it to happen?

I guess a court order can make it though?

Could also be against the club.

Players were told 'not to go easy on him' allegedly.

 

[Kaz]

I bet if Topine was at the Storm, he would be taught/able to wrestle.

 

[Alan79]

The worst thing for topine is, even if he does get some money I can't see it helping his mental health whether he has issues now or not. He will be getting comments about it for the rest of his life. And if the court decides the punishment was reasonable and finds in the club's favour, it will be far worse.

I like to think the club will look after him if he lets them. But the damage is definitely done now to his career. If he decides to have another charge at elite league he's a risk now to clubs. That will be reflected in what he's offered. If he ever goes on to earn good money, it's going to be after he finds the motivation to excel for a cheap salary for a few years to show he's worthy of good coin.

And as you say there's going to be morons in every pub he visits that ask him to wrestle or make some other joke at his expense. Some will even be abusive. It had already gone past the point of being secret prior to now. But this action in the media is a real blow to potentially getting back on the horse.

 

[D0GMATIC]

I like to think the club will look after him if he lets them. But the damage is definitely done now to his career. If he decides to have another charge at elite league he's a risk now to clubs. That will be reflected in what he's offered. If he ever goes on to earn good money, it's going to be after he finds the motivation to excel for a cheap salary for a few years to show he's worthy of good coin.

And as you say there's going to be morons in every pub he visits that ask him to wrestle or make some other joke at his expense. Some will even be abusive. It had already gone past the point of being secret prior to now. But this action in the media is a real blow to potentially getting back on the horse.

I like to think the club will look after him if he lets them. But the damage is definitely done now to his career. If he decides to have another charge at elite league he's a risk now to clubs. That will be reflected in what he's offered. If he ever goes on to earn good money, it's going to be after he finds the motivation to excel for a cheap salary for a few years to show he's worthy of good coin.

And as you say there's going to be morons in every pub he visits that ask him to wrestle or make some other joke at his expense. Some will even be abusive. It had already gone past the point of being secret prior to now. But this action in the media is a real blow to potentially getting back on the horse.

I agree, I think ideally the club would have been open to give him the full amount he was entitled to initially. Why wouldn't they ? He wouldn't have been on huge money.But once you severe all contact and go down the legal path, it changes everything, for ever. The reason he will cop grief for ever about this . . .It doesn't pass the pub test.

 

[Dogs Of War]

I have on question. If you are exhausted and spent - because you pushed and pushed with wrestling - the last several players are pretty much falling on a player absolutely spent with nothing left. You can't wrestle someone who has submitted and has no resistance. So it is very confusing to me what was actually unfolding there. I wonder how much Topine's ego was bruised more than his body and he wants to humiliate the Club because he refused to learn from his humiliation.

Topine did this at the start of the session, then completed the whole session afterwards. So I feel he is grasping at straws. Mentally it's hard to be a fringe player who is fighting for his career. I feel that has something to do with it all.

 

[Harry Oz]

When we first heard the news of this i had a feeling this was coming.

I can imagine a precedent being set and we'll see a huge amount of change / introduction to new policies around player welfare / training etc moving forward.

Shame it had to be us tho.

No doubt RFM and the others who disappeared over the offseason will back topine so we better have some current players who wrestled him for example in our corner

Hopefully no-one has a problem with more being put into player welfare.
And that includes everything from reporting working place hazards like sharp edges on witches hats to making sure players are ready for their post-NRL career and can avoid early-onset dementia.
The Bulldogs have always been leaders in this area of player welfare, for example in the 80s the club made a big thing about George Peponis being a doctor and players being supported by the club after they retired.
We're not far away from having players being forcibly retired after they have received a specified number of head knocks. Rather than players like Tedesco being 'advised' to retire and making their own decisions.
I've never been 100% comfortable watching rugby league knowing players are discarded at the end of their careers. With so many of them not having work or life skills, succumbing to drug and alcohol abuse, spending the rest of their lives reminiscing about their career highlight, while their brains and families collapse around them.
Having a proper player health and welfare framework around the game means we can watch and enjoy the game without being enablers to exploitation of the workers involved.

With Topine, the judicial system will get to the bottom of it.
That's why we have courts.
If the trainer and the club are found by a court to have done the wrong thing by Topine, then their decision should be accepted and rugby league will be better for it.
Unless the judge's name is Sutton.

 

[Doggies 04]

Apparently he's calling on former team mates to support he's claim, let me guess mariner and that flop pengai jr

 

[Shnissss]

Ambulance chaser lawyers smelling cash.

Shows up late, doesn't own his mistake, copped a punishment that seems to be pretty common among other teams...couldn't hack it so he took his ball and went home...but still wants to be paid.

I highly doubt any of his team mates were trying to 'assault' him or injure him in any way during the wrestling punishment.

Reality is, he was touted as a star in the junior ranks, made rep teams etc...but that didn't flow on to the NRL and couldn't cut it with the big boys. Dogs brought in better players - Kikau, Preston and then added more depth in Curran, Mann etc.

$4 million in lost earnings? I don't ever recall another club ever trying to steal him away from the dogs...was never going to be on 300-400k a year..

Who are his lawyers? It reads as though they got a junior to pull out a bunch of lines from a text book and attach a $4m claim to it to make it sound big.

Reality is they know how mediation generally works. You take the amount each side believes it’s owed, add it up and divide by 2 and that’s the middle ground so they want $2m out of it.

Good to see the club come out and say they will defend it and everyone behind it! He’ll get his day in court

 

[Reecek89]

Apparently he's calling on former team mates to support he's claim, let me guess mariner and that flop pengai jr

Nah not TPJ, it’s RFM, Alomoti and Nu Brown. Hayze Perham also apart of that crew and dogs looking to get rid of him as early as next week.

 

[bcmf]

Nah not TPJ, it’s RFM, Alomoti and Nu Brown. Hayze Perham also apart of that crew and dogs looking to get rid of him as early as next week.

If any of those blokes testify, they’re as good as gone themselves. Honestly. It’ll rage me like no other if they do it. Yes stand up for your mate, but this ain’t how you do it

 

[Sandra's Bollocks]

I'm tipping this will get settled out of court. 4mil is the max they think they can get, but it'll probably be half that - or even less.

 

[bcmf]

I'm tipping this will get settled out of court. 4mil is the max they think they can get, but it'll probably be half that - or even less.

I’m beginning to think it shouldn’t even be like that. He should get nothing other than medical bills paid for. We’re basically rewarding him for not being able to supposedly be a footy player. It’s like saying I studied to be a doctor, couldn’t make it and now I want money that I should have been to be a doctor cause the experience of studying was too stressful!

 

[Total Fool]

So Topine was asked by the NRL to go to HQ and tell them what happened & he declined.
The NRL players association also tried to intervene and got nothing from Topine.
The guys on NRL 360 said that last night… so clearly to me, this was always going to be a cash grab by taking it to court.
I hope the club, the leagues club throw every dollar at this to defend it

 

[Sandra's Bollocks]

I’m beginning to think it shouldn’t even be like that. He should get nothing other than medical bills paid for. We’re basically rewarding him for not being able to supposedly be a footy player. It’s like saying I studied to be a doctor, couldn’t make it and now I want money that I should have been to be a doctor cause the experience of studying was too stressful!

I agree. But the club may not want to go down that road and give him something just to make it go away?