Bulldogs in legal battle with player who walked out over training punishment

The Bulldogs are reportedly facing a legal battle with the player who walked out of the club’s training and stood down due to mental health.

Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

The Bulldogs are reportedly facing a legal battle with the player who walked out of the club’s training and stood down due to mental health last year.

The Daily Telegraph reported the Bulldogs and the young footballer are locked din a legal battle after talks between the club and the player broke down.

The highly rated player, who is still a part of the Bulldogs’ top 30 stood down after being ordered to wrestle his teammates as punishment for being late to training.

The player, who cannot be named due to his mental health has not trained with the Bulldogs since the incident late last season.

The RLPA and the NRL welfare team continue to monitor the situation.

Canterbury chief executive Aaron Warburton refused to comment on the situation when approached by the Telegraph.

“I can’t because there’s legal proceedings under way.” Warburton said.

Warburton refused to confirm if the player in question was still being paid by the club.

Coach Cameron Ciraldo’s tough training methods became an issue last year when then captain Raymond Faitala-Mariner raised the issue with him on behalf of several disgruntled players.

A player took issue with Cameron Ciraldo’s training punishment for being late.

Faitala-Mariner also had a battle with the club over his contract and is now at the Dragons after mutually agreeing to part ways with the Bulldogs.

Addressing the media last year on the incident, Ciraldo defended the club’s punishment for the player and explained the Bulldogs were trying to change the culture of the club and drive new standards to improve on-field performance after years of failure.

“It’s a pretty sensitive issue and I won’t be commenting,” Ciraldo said at the time.

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs training after news that a player had walked out on the club over a punishment during training in August 2023.

“I don’t want to comment specifically, but at different times, we’ve wanted to put some standards in place, and if you’re late, we have to do something.

“We are trying to drive standards. We want to have winning performance standards. Some of that’s been monetary related, some of it’s been spinning a wheel, and then some of that’s been trying to find ways to change behaviours.

“The reality is we need to change behaviours here, and I think we’ve done a good job of that throughout the season. And I feel really sorry for the fans that we are where we are.

“It doesn’t seem like we’ve taken steps forward this year on the same wins as last year. We definitely haven’t taken steps back.”

Originally published as Bulldogs in legal battle with player who walked out over training punishment