Jackson Topine was shopped to rival clubs weeks before $4m claim against Canterbury Bulldogs

The email, which has been seen by the Herald, said: “Jackson Topine is known for his exceptional work ethic and attitude towards growth and success.

“As the recipient of the 2022 clubman of the year award at the Bulldogs, his approach to being part of the squad impressed his team through his enthusiasm, effort and positivity. In his limited number of first-grade appearances, he has shown an extremely high tackle efficiency (93.5% in 2023, 94.3% in 2022, and 97.2% in 2021), which is a reflection of his grit and high endurance.

“He represented the Maori All-Stars during 2021 in a 10-10 draw, and played in the 2022 NSW Cup grand final against the Penrith Panthers.”

The ceasing of payment

Topine’s statement of claim alleges that the contract of the former Australian Schoolboy was illegally terminated. Sources talking under the condition of anonymity to protect confidences told this masthead that Topine was paid for at least three months after refusing to return to training.

It is alleged he provided the club with several medical certificates to justify his absence but would not respond to calls from club officials who decided to stop paying him well after his sick leave entitlements had expired.

Before the Bulldogs stopped paying him, Topine’s agent was notified that the club would cease to make payments to him if he could not fulfil his contractual obligations. The club stopped paying Topine on October 31 – the end of the rugby league financial year. The NRL also approved his removal from the club’s salary cap.

Those close to Topine believed he had a 10- to 12-year NRL career ahead of him. Given the average NRL salary exceeds $400,000 – and considering his status as a junior representative star – they predict he could have earned more than $4 million.

Topine was on an annual salary of around $125,000 at the time of the incident in question, which occurred at Gracie Jiu Jitsu in Smeaton Grange, in south-west Sydney.

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The statement of claim says Topine was made to wrestle 30 to 35 teammates. This masthead has been told under the condition of anonymity that the club’s internal investigation into the matter estimated he had been told to wrestle 24 players for a total of four minutes at approximately 10 second intervals per teammate. The session was not captured on video.

The sources said Topine turned up to training for the rest of the week and did not raise an issue with the treatment at the time.

This masthead has learned that the incident occurred in the same week as he was demoted from the NRL for defensive lapses (including four missed tackles) in a 44-24 loss against the Brisbane Broncos at Belmore on July 15.

Three days after the loss – on the same day as the wrestling incident in Smeaton Grange – Topine was named to play in the No.11 jersey for the Bulldogs against the Panthers that weekend. The next day he was told by Ciraldo that he would instead be the team’s 18th man. He hasn’t played in the NRL since.

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