‘Deprivation of liberty’: Jackson Topine takes Bulldogs to court after being forced to wrestle ‘30 to 35’ teammates
Jackson Topine in action for the Bulldogs in July last year. Picture: Getty Images
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The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have been accused of the “deprivation of liberty” and “unlawful corporal punishment” of one of the club’s most prodigious talents in a landmark $4m lawsuit that alleges the young player was forced to wrestle “30 to 35” teammates as punishment for being late to training.
Lawyers for former Bulldogs rising star Jackson Topine – a one-time schoolboy captain of NSW and Australia –
claim the 16-game first-grader was “detained” and subjected to “assault” and “battery” and “humiliation” at the orders of the club’s head trainer, Travis Touma.
They claim that Topine, “one of the youngest players” in the squad, suffered “psychiatric injury”, “physical and mental impairment” and that his contract was illegally terminated.
An investigation by The Australian has laid bare the scandal, which has been described as having the potential to be the biggest crisis for Canterbury since the Coffs Harbour gang rape allegations two decades ago.
GLORY DAYS: Jackson Topine before the incident
The incident has previously been shrouded in mystery, with confirmation only that an unnamed player had gone on sick leave amid reports he had been forced to wrestle 12 teammates for a few minutes, sparking accusations by some retired Bulldogs that the player was “soft”.
A statement of claim lodged in the NSW Supreme Court this week alleges Topine, at the conclusion of a gruelling 90-minute wrestling session on July 18, 2023, was forced to wrestle the entire senior squad, one after the other, for 30 seconds at a time.
Touma, the court claim says, directed the team to conduct the punishment for Topine because he arrived late to a training session.
Topine has not played rugby league since.
Several of Topine’s teammates, who spoke to The Australian on the basis of anonymity to protect their NRL careers, described their alarm at the punishment, with one declaring: “It wasn’t wrestling, it was humiliation.”
The Bulldogs declined to answer detailed questions about the Topine incident but in a statement said the club “will say that there are a number of allegations that we categorically deny”. The Bulldogs did not specify which allegations it was denying.
Topine’s lawyer, Abdul Reslan, from Kings Law, said the player’s lawsuit would have significant ramifications for sport.
“Appropriate protections need to be afforded to all workplaces, including within the contact sports domain,” Mr Reslan said.
The court documents allege that despite Topine’s obvious exhaustion and distress, Touma insisted the team not let up on the then 22-year-old – actions, it’s alleged, that allegedly amounted to an “assault”.
“Each player in the Bulldogs roster, who were the plaintiff’s opponents in wrestling match-ups, possessed high levels of fitness and strength,” the court statement reads.
As he took on each new opponent in the wrestling punishment, Topine “suffered a continued and marked deterioration in his capacity to compete.”
And, the claim states, when his teammates pointed out that Topine was exhausted “the match-ups continued”.
“(Touma) directed (Topine’s) opponents in the wrestling match-ups not to reduce intensity by saying words to the following effect, ‘Don’t let him up if he’s down, jump on him straight away’.
Jackson Topine has played 16 games in first grade.
“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.”
It’s alleged Touma discouraged other players from helping Topine. “On completion of all wrestling match-ups … (Touma) stated to those present at the training session words to the following effect: “No, don’t congratulate or help him. He deserved that. He was f..king late.”
Topine’s legal team alleges that he was subjected to “unlawful corporal punishment” and that Touma had made an “arbitrary decision” to impose an “unlawful” punishment because Topine was “eight to 10 minutes” late to the scheduled wrestling session, which was held at a gym in Sydney’s southwest.
The Australian’s investigation into the Topine incident has lifted the veil on the inner workings of the NRL club and its hardline approach under the leadership of the Bulldogs football supremo Phil Gould and head coach Cameron Ciraldo.
Last year, the uncompromising direction of the club was allegedly embodied in Ciraldo’s interaction with then Bulldogs club captain Raymond Faitala-Mariner, who approached the head coach with the concerns of 10 players about the harsh workload.
The Australian can reveal that when Faitala-Mariner raised the players’ concerns about the long hours and the subsequent impact on their families, Ciraldo allegedly responded by saying: “If you, or any other player, don’t like it, there’s the f..king door.”
In the weeks after Topine “walked out” of the club, Gould went on the front foot defending Ciraldo and the club’s culture.
“We want to instil those values and instil that training and work ethic and it gets hard for some and it gets too hard for others,” Gould said on his own podcast, Six Tackles with Gus. “The ones that come out the other side are the ones you want to build your club around and it’s as simple as that.”
The Bulldogs also said in their statement to The Australian that it takes “mental health concerns very seriously”.
Topine was signed to the club as a 15-year-old.
“Our club will not be providing responses to the questions below as requested … but will say that there are a number of allegations that we categorically deny,” a Bulldogs spokeswoman wrote in an email to The Australian.
“Some of the questioning … relates specifically to employees or their contracts and as with all employee matters, these are strictly confidential in nature … We also take player welfare very seriously and place the best interests and welfare of our players and staff as our number one priority.
“As we do take mental health concerns very seriously and given the appropriate sensitivities that should be applied in matters concerning mental health, the club will not be making any comment at this time on any of the individuals at the centre of the allegations.”
Gould has previously played down the punishment inflicted on Topine – without naming him – and said: “I doubt this story goes any further, if we all hold our peace, which we will and we’re doing that because of the sensitivity of the matter and the protection of the player.”
The landmark civil case could also have major ramifications for the NRL and other codes, on how they administer “punishments” to their players for infractions of team policies.
It may raise questions about the treatment of Pacific players and highlight the fact that while almost half the players are from the Pacific, they comprise very few of the coaching staff, administrators and management.
Experts say this gross underrepresentation in management plays out in how Pacific players perform in the NRL.
One player, who witnessed the wrestling punishment of Jackson Topine, said he felt he couldn’t speak out.
In the statement of claim, it is alleged that Topine had no idea why he was being punished – he thought he had arrived 20 minutes early, as he didn’t need strapping prior to the session.
“The plaintiff arrived late to training in circumstances where he made a mistake in relation to reading the training schedule for 18 July 2023 of “Arrive/ strapping 8am” then “Wrestle 8.30am”, the statement reads.
“On arrival, he greeted numerous players and staff. He was available and prepared for the commencement of the scheduled wrestling training at 8.30am.
“After completing the scheduled wrestling training (which was undertaken by all players in the Bulldogs player roster present over an hour and a half) from approximately 8.30am until 10.00am, the second defendant (Touma) directed the plaintiff (Topine), as a condition of his employment, to engage in individual wrestling match-ups with between 30 to 35 players in the Bulldogs NRL Player Roster (the “wrestling direction”)
Topine claims the “wrestling direction” was not part of the scheduled training session.
The NRL is yet to formally investigate the Topine incident.
Topine was first signed to the club at the age of 15, by the Bulldogs’ then talent scout Noel Cleal, and in 2019 he captained the Australian Schoolboys.
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