It’s hard for the general public to sympathise with this when most people dig holes for 8 hours a day, everyday.

Billy’s got such great insights. You can see he’s going to be as good a coach as he was a player.

Give me an nrl contract and I’ll wrestle the whole nrl 510 players.

These three legends are all correct. We flogged at training too; it was only bush footy in Group 9.

I can understand why Queensland will win the State of Origin with Billy as coach!

I’m a landscaper I push wheel barrows dog holes and carry tonnes of material daily,Jackson any time you want to swap trades big fella I’m all for it! Harden up princess , I make $31 an hlur

Don’t be late. Simple. And if you are, accept the consequences.

Nobody has really brought this up but around the same time this happened there was a bunch of injuries sustained at bulldogs training, tevita pangai left, Brandon burns left and faitala mariner (the club captain) spoke to ciraldo about the tough training regime. All of them eventually leaving. And now we see the bulldogs improving.

Jackson Topine could of just copped it on the chin and dealt with the dogs internally, and he could probably have sorted out an avenue back to playing or another role within the club and as a doggies fan i can speak for the entire fan base, we loved him. He was like a younger version of Josh Reynolds the next prince of Belmore and future captain. Now hes just propper gronked himself lol

As a chef , i should have sued my employer for making me work split shifts

NRL teams aren't above OH&S laws. In a legal sense there is no difference to an employee in an office vs an employee on the footy field, they all have rights and all employers owe a duty of care.

The bloke is just soft, ffs

I think if Michael mentioned at the opening that he is now unable to play due to physical and mental health issues after the wrestling session, the panel probably would’ve had a different reaction. Instead he mentions it at the end of the segment and Billy just says that’s sad. Sad.

If you told me to play nrl all I had to do was wrestle the whole squad I'd say let me do it 5 times in a row. Fight the first 3 and cruise the rest

OMG here in the real world …….. I’d rather say I survived training and I played…. Not I sued and sulked….

Well said Billy, it is the making of you; and only those of us who have overcome will understand what he meant. Pushing past that fear, that exhaustion, that burst of leading by example, not many have it.

You take the shoulder hit out and suspend Spencer for banter now you want to cry cause training is hard..fair game

I think more damaging to the game is the six again calls called from somewhere in the stands for ruck infringements. If you only rewind it you can see there is no infringement. The bell goes at least two or three passes later. Why is this not scrutinised? No media coverage? The game is open to manipulation and it is lacking integrity.

Don't get me started on being late !!! I trained to swim for the Olympics when I was young fella. I would swim2 hours before and 2 hours after school and on weekends for hours per day . Now when I was swimming, I would swim until I would vomit and That's when I stopped to wash my mouth out so I could continue training. In winter my coach would put 20 odd bags of ice in the pool and tell me the only way I can get warm is if I don't stop swimming. My coach screamed on the side of the pool when I trained and had a bucket of ice cubes to throw at me if my swimming stroke was incorrect or I was going to slow . Training also included keeping dumbels out of the water above my head and only using my kick to stay afloat, also having a rubber strap to my feet so I had to use my arms to stroke a certain distance and if I didn't I would have to keep doing it until I did . This is just a little tiny tiny taste of what I had to do . You know what , as hard as I trained and I did beat some great swimmers back my day I still never made the Olympics, I was close but not close enough. NRL training is to be somewhat the best in Australia, when you become an Olympian you train to be the best in THE WHOLE FUKN WORLD 🌎. This guy who's having a winge about training to hard is actually the weak gutted dog Sticky was pointing the finger at . Pathetic If you want to play NRL , you take everything that comes with it . If you don't cut it , then change your career and find something else you're good at .

Look , when your boss asks you to do something in the work place you can refuse. The consequences are then negotiated. That is all that is happening.

I have a friend who works in rugby league and there is alot more to the story then what they are saying here. I’ve been a dogs supporter for over 25 years and let’s just say I’m in full support of this player.

Billy is just awesome honestly

I love the old players vs workplace health and safety arguments. “It’s just the game argument vs no sick days, no annual leave, no paternity leave argument is funny

If we don't push ourselves to the limits we won't able to know what we are capable of when the times gets tough.

Send him too Billy Johnstone

I want to be a nrl player and I didnt make it so I am going to sue all the 17 clubs because its there fault I am not good enough.

“You didn’t even have to be late” hahahaha

I struggle with how on one hand they’re basically saying he’s being a sook, but if someone is called what they consider a slur then they need to wrapped up in cotton wool and protected. What’s harder on your mental health? Getting thrashed by your entire team or some outside of your team calling you a bad name? Surely if you have to be tough enough for one, the other should be a walk in the park?

A possible solution for clubs in the future that allows them to discipline players for breaking the rules might be to have clauses in the player's contract that says if you are late for training, for instance, without a reasonable excuse, the player gets fined $10000. If they do it again, $20000,. Keep on doing it and we tear up your contract. A player losing their own money is a big incentive.

Never played footy came here aged 22 love the game its tuff it can be brutal at times to me only big bruisers play got to be slightly crazy too disciplined on and off field when get big $$ you have to expect tuff training to keep up with other teams

About time. Your making sense andrew

Try Grading for a Karate Black Beat, 40 full contact 2 minute fights one after the other with no breaks. Seen it happen and the person doesn't complain

i worked two jobs to support my family i found time to stay in shape and play with my friends in a league on sundays i went in to work on some monday morning in pain but i loved the sport i paid club dues to play i cant understand these guys complaining about training but i guess itts all about heart

Fine for the panel to talk about finding out how tough someone is, pushing them to "breaking point" says Joey. Hmmm, a Manly player died after a training session in 2020 from "exertional heat stroke". Is that the type of "breaking point" the panel thinks is okay? It's the same idiotic argument about head knocks - in the good old days when players got knocked senseless but came back on later the commentators said how tough he was. Now we know about the long-term effects, yet some pundits still reckon the game has gone "soft" over the concusssion protocols...This won't be the last lawsuit, that's for sure.

The size and stamina of players today are so much more advanced then when any of these guys played. If the story is true and i am not convinced it is. I think the bulldogs are in trouble here. The law will not carre they are a professional sport.

It is not surprising that an employee sues an employer for physical and emotional punishment that dates back 20 years. What was acceptable 20 years ago in sport, schools and workplaces is no longer acceptable in today's society. Regardless if it is a professional sport or not, an employer still has a duty of care to their employees.

would be interesting to hear some thoughts abouts case vis a vis the Keith titmuss case

AJ and BF kept closing off Billy's great insights.

Even at JiuJitsu not even near a pro level we would have to grapple without a break for HOURS in order to go through a grading. We never got paid 😂

A fine would've been mire necessary or even dropped from the squad to reserve grade...

There is no clause in the workplace safety legislation that excludes professional sporting clubs. It its irrelevant whether incidents of arriving late for work have a history of punishments. What is not discussed why they are late, bad traffic, sick children, appointments etc. The law is not in the Bulldogs favour, they will settle.

As it was said and been said if he had just kept his complaints in house he could have just settled and perhaps gone somewhere else... now no one is going to want to take him.

Gee, things have changed since George Piper's Balmain teammates used to get him out of the pub on Saturday to play in the main game.

The word your looking for is intestinal fortitude

I suspect if it gets to court then you are going to have a problem. Tough guys that you all are.

If the Bulldogs do an out of court settlement, they should be fined by the NRL or even suspended for a season. Not even our incredibly #%$ed up legal system could fine in favour of the plaintiff. He was not locked in a room and told he couldn't leave until the punishment was completed. Anytime he wanted to walk out of training he could have done so.

100% right from the commentators. He couldn’t do what is required and is wanting money for it. He wasn’t gonna be playing at $400k for the next 10yrs.

He must have something, evidence or witnesses otherwise why would he sue? You can't brush it off without knowing exactly what happened. It's not about your stories about training or anyone elses its about that particular incident.

and yes wen he says dig holes i believe he means doing physical work i kno there r other guys like me who played for the love of gamd ja'maine hopgood( not sure i spelled that right) dad died after playing reserve grade thats heart im sure ja'maine doesnt complain bc he had the right role model

7:14 Geez, if that happened to this Jackson donut he would be suing for SA

People are being dismissive of his claims. If the wrestling caused him injury then that’s not right. There is a line between abuse or discipline. NFL has rules against these treatment and I believe NFL is tougher than NRL

Lol. Ex footballers and WH&S. Where amongst other things, employers need to - Providing a safe and healthy work environment for all employees. - Identify and eliminate hazards in the workplace to prevent accidents and injuries. - Consult with employees on health and safety matters to ensure their input and participation... 🤔

They still dont get it, they are trying to compare group punishment to being singled out to be humiliated

ol mate obviously is not cut out for the nrl if he wins in court that would be an absolute joke come be a steel fixer or anything in construction see how ya go mate and see if ya can survive on our wages he had it sweet

Horrible the ex-players saying it’s ok and happens all the time. This is unacceptable

The last thing you need is a HR department.

His just looking for "go away" money. Classic former employee shakedown, i`ve seen this happen before and it usually works, to expensive and messy to fight it. Next he`ll be whining he can`t get a run at another club, totally oblivious to what his done to himself.

Well, they should bring in a legal expert to give insight into the legal side of things. At least a legal prediction of some sort.

It’s a tough one but agree with Joey. The NRL is a tough sport and training is part of that. Good luck to the player but this os dangerous for clubs moving forward

And there’s the reason why Queensland beats NSW. Billy Slater, the smartest man in that room by a very long way.

I have the utmost respect for Joey's accomplishments on the field, but when it comes to off-field behaviour I'm more interested in Billy Slater's opinion. None of these guys were boy scouts during their playing career but men like Slater and Lockyer kept their names out of the tabloids.

Here we go again - media talking about a case that is before the courts.

Topine sounds a bit soft to me

If the Bulldogs settle, terminate his contract with the settlement and other teams do not sign him up.

Bring back unlimited tackles rule.

Lady in red 😍

If i ever had the chance at a shot at the nrl i would not be showing up late to training...! The real world is tough working an 8 to 5 consistentlyis hard.. the nrl isn't for everyone but boy would i love to have a chance at playing code for 6 figures! Up the Wahs!!

Why did he not start with the statement at 10 minutes? Completely wasted discussion because they didn’t realise the actual accusation

i cant understand y people r mocking a guy who is landscaper or a garbo saying they couldnt cut it in nrl its not about cutting it in nrl its about appreciating a god given skill that others including myself wd give my left pinky to have y troll another man?

Some of this sounds like hazing no?

So many comments about how well the NRL players are payed..it has nothing to do with their athletic ability, but all to do with how much other people, with or without a love of the game are raking in from the NRL. From broadcasters, through to alcohol an gambling companies. That flog V'landys said quite plainly that the Leagues little Vegas excursion was all about getting a slice of the lucrative US gambling market. To the administrators, the players are livestock, that is why they are paid so much......

Imagine just waiting for all the facts to be known before having an opinion

Couple of tins of harden the Fup

They completely missed the point. I personally think topine needsbto harden up but he may see it as hazing which is illegal

Playing a whole game with a busted cheek bone is NOT tough, it is plain stupid.

Wish I could sue for doing 20 mins hard work. What a cat

He definately owes the local gang money and in massive debt.

I don’t get it. 4 million for what ?? Does he think that he was going to earn that amount and that’s why he is asking for that amount. He was a fringe player and I’m sure he want on massive money like a Cleary.

People talk about mens mental health and then toss it in the bin when someone literally says they’ve been mentally abused

Ask his team mates to comment!

If I turn up late for work I get fired.

If that was Andrew John son I'll bet he will want to take the bulldog to court we need to adapt with time wat happen here abuse of power

Freddy went soft with Blue's training that's why they lost!

Its obvious he realizes he isn't going to make it in the nrl because he hasn't got the skill and mental fortitude, and is taking the easy way and suing. Very sad he has to take the role of a victim.

If show up late work too many times at ANY JOB you'll be SACKED 😂

Sounds like Bulldogs need an HR department 🤣🤣

Has any one here seen a crew of fob form workers …. If One of their boys turn up late they have to run the gauntlet straight out of the alimak 😂😂😂

The double standards reeks. Sure being flogged at training in the old days was the way to go. Now sports science proves it's not necessary. So on one hand for Johns being belted on the field is the old bad ways.. but being flogged at training is okay? A young kid from Manly died from extreme training in heat. A young kid from the Bunnies nearly just did until an abnormal heart saved that club some scrutiny. The duty of care to players/employees is more important than 'the game/club'. As for the old players being tougher, get real. They were drunks, with beer bellies who couldn't get run in A grade these days.

No one likes to feel humiliated in front of anyone especially mates and colleagues. It sucks that he feels that way but at the end of that you make 5 x more than average person, it’s hard to feel completely sorry for him.

Joey said he doesn't know Jackson as a player...lol That's concerning because isn't he a rugby league tv analyst? Sounds like he nor the shows producers prepare themselves enough before going live 🤦🏾‍♂️

There's a reason the Frogmen are an exclusive club. Imagine one of those soldiers who didn't make it in the Navy Seals suing the military because it was too hard.🤦 SOFT generation.

None of the talking heads are actually addressing the claims. The claims are about humiliation and workplace bullying. I don't have a strong stance on the issue but its pathetic watching them all strawman what could be a legitimate problem.

I think this highlights the problem with society in general and the way it’s heading.. I won’t elaborate but if you agree with me you will know what I’m saying..

Simple solution for clubs, if you’re late to training and it’s not due to an emergency. You get your contract torn up and can join the rest of us with real jobs.

Punish me I'll sing a song naked.

10 minutes early, is early, 5 minutes early is on time, on time is late and late you better have called in and informed them your arriving late, worst jobs for for arriving late

What a sook.

Deprivation of liberty my arse! He could have walked away at any time and quit.

you wouldnt ask someone that works in a office to wrestle 30 people but they do that for a job so thats fine

Topine, buggest sook in nrl history