'Not for everyone': Joey's passionate Bulldogs defence

Andrew Johns has leapt to the defence of the Bulldogs, with the club facing a $4 million lawsuit from former player, Jackson Topine.

The 22-year-old was involved in a wrestling session last season, which saw him forced to grapple with a large number of his teammates at Canterbury as punishment for turning up late to training.

Topine took a leave of absence from the Bulldogs at the time and has now left the club, with his future in rugby league uncertain at this stage.

Earlier this week, it was revealed Topine had launched legal action against Canterbury and trainer Travis Touma as he “suffers ongoing incapacity to play the game” following the wrestling session and the impact on his physical and mental wellbeing.

Bulldogs trainer Travis Touma and former player Jackson Topine.

Speaking on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show, the rugby league Immortal delivered an impassioned plea and explained the importance of tough training regimes in the NRL.

“You get to a point where you’re training hard and the players are watching and you are getting flogged,” Johns said.

“You get to the point of breaking point – you see the character of the person. It means that when it hits the fan on the field, you can trust them.

“A professional sport, especially a contact sport, which is so tough – it’s not for everyone. There’s only a small percentage of the population that can play at that top level. If you’re not up to it, then you’re not a part of it.

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“When the blowtorch gets applied to the belly out on the field, that’s when you see the true character. You’ve got to work them out and the way to work that out is to get them to training, get them to the point of breaking so you can see their true character.

“I could not imagine another club would pick Jackson up.”

Jackson Topine during his time with the Bulldogs.

Topine played 16 top grade games for the Dogs between 2021 and 2023, filling in at a variety of positions after a promising junior career.

Billy Slater – who played his entire NRL career in the notoriously tough Melbourne system – was also left surprised by the lawsuit lodged by Topine.

“That was just a part of the training regime [at the Storm],” the Maroons coach said.

“You don’t have to wrestle every person in the squad, but there’s a balance to this.

“It’s a really tough game and you’ve got to condition yourself to that environment and you’ve also got to be disciplined. The coaches and trainers put you through tough regimes to condition you for what is to come.

“If it does uphold in court, there’s going to be a lot of clubs, trainers and coaches thinking about how they deal with players.

“It’s really sad for a person to be going through this and it’s public. This is a tough situation for him … it’s not good for anyone.”

A report from The Sydney Morning Herald has also revealed a text message sent from Topine’s father Marcus to the club, detailing their desire to begin legal proceedings.

Nine reporter Michael Chammas revealed that the following week, Braidon Burns found himself in a similar situation and had no issue with the punishment from the Bulldogs.

The club have publicly expressed their desire to defend the claims made by Topine.