Eighteen months ago, Canterbury’s coaching staff were accused of leaving Jackson Topine with “psychiatric injury” and “physical and mental impairment” after the forward was made to wrestle 35 teammates as punishment for allegedly being late to training.
Topine was sacked at the end of the 2023 season, and later launched a $4m lawsuit against the club in which he claims he was subjected to “assault” – which Canterbury have denied – when forced to wrestle a succession of teammates in short intervals during a training session.
The Bulldogs have defended the Supreme Court action against them, denying liability and arguing that Topine consented to the wrestling activity.
On Tuesday, the same Bulldogs staff were being celebrated as the best in the business after the Rugby League Players Association published their results of a player poll.
A total of 512 players across all 17 NRL clubs took part in the poll, in which they were asked to rate the performances of their club across all areas on a scale of zero to 10.
If 85 per cent of players answered with a nine or 10 out of 10, the club received an A for that category. If 75 per cent of players answered with an eight, nine or 10, they would receive a B. If 50 per cent of players provided a score of five or less, it meant an F.
Cameron Ciraldo oversees Bulldogs training.Credit: James Brickwood
To explain the criteria under which clubs were considered the best in their respective categories, the RLPA wrote on its website: “These clubs achieved the highest cumulative scores, and while they may be outperformed by others in specific areas, their overall ranking places them firmly at the top of each ranking table.”
The Dogs came out on top in the category of “high-performance staffing”, which included head coach Cameron Ciraldo, assistant coaches, medical staff, CEO support and football management.
Strength and conditioning trainer Travis Touma was named in the Topine case, which remains before the courts, but remained at the club to complete his duties this season. He enjoyed a successful career at the Sydney Roosters before arriving at Belmore via a short stint at South Sydney.
Judging by the RLPA poll, Touma – along with sprint coach Rubin Ruzicka, strength coach Chad McGill and sport scientist Matt Chandler – retains the respect of the Bulldogs players.
Without making reference to the Topine case, Bulldogs chief executive Aaron Warburton welcomed the poll results.
Bulldogs skipper Stephen Crichton during a training session in September.Credit: James Brickwood
“This recognition from the RLPA validates our commitment to providing the very best high-performance environment for our players,” Warburton said. “We’ve invested heavily in assembling an elite coaching and support staff, and it’s gratifying to see this acknowledged by players across the game.”
South Sydney were ranked the best club overall, and came out on top in the areas of “services and support”, and “facilities”. They also received a “B” for their head coach – which, given polling was conducted between July and September, applied to caretaker coach Ben Hornby, not Jason Demetriou, who was sacked on April 30.
The RLPA results will allow clubs to address any matters that were reflected in the anonymous player responses. Topine has not played since his messy exit from the Bulldogs.
In a statement of claim, Topine described a training session on July 18, 2023 as a “deprivation of liberty” and “unlawful corporal punishment”. It is claimed the now 23-year-old suffered “psychiatric injury” and “physical and mental impairment” as a result.
According to the claim, Topine “suffered psychiatric injury, deprivation of liberty, humiliation, indignity, physical exhaustion, physical discomfort, anxiety, embarrassment, and fear”.
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