LeagueNews.co | Cooper McEnroe
In a sensational twist, young footy sensation Jackson Topine has thrown down the gauntlet at his former club, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, by accusing them of "unlawful corporal punishment" in a jaw-dropping $4m lawsuit.
The 22-year-old Kiwi-born player, who has captained both New South Wales and Australia at the schoolboy level, is a tough second rower with 16 NRL games under his belt.
He last took to the field for the Bulldogs in 2023, after representing the Maori All Stars in 2021.
According to reports from The Australian, Topine's legal team alleges that the young star was handed a gruelling punishment for his lateness to training - being forced to take on a staggering "30 to 35" teammates in a wrestling match.
The lawsuit claims that this unlawful punishment led to not only the premature termination of his contract, but also to "psychiatric injury" and both physical and mental impairment.
This isn't the first time the Bulldogs have been caught up in controversy over harsh training methods, as a previous report from The Daily Telegraph revealed that a player had to take mental health leave after being compelled to wrestle the entire first-grade squad.
While Topine wasn't named in that report, it seems that the young gun is now stepping up to call out what he sees as unacceptable treatment in the sporting arena.