Jackson Topine settles two-year legal battle with Bulldogs

The Bullddog have cleared a major distraction ahead of the 2026 season, ending their long-running legal dispute with former player Jackson Topine. 

Topine initiated legal action against the club nearly two years ago, claiming that a training ground incident had caused him psychiatric injury, humiliation, and fear. 

The case was set to return to court this week in preparation for a full hearing, but sources have revealed to NewsCorp that it has now been dismissed. 

It is understood that Bulldogs chairman Adam Driussi met with Topine in December in an effort to resolve the matter, and those discussions reportedly paved the way for the case to be dropped.

The resolution is a significant relief for the Bulldogs, as a court case would have required some of the biggest names to give evidence in the middle of the season.

Bulldogs head of football Phil Gould and coach Cameron Ciraldo, along with several of Topine's former teammates, many of whom remain with the club, would likely have been called to testify. 

From the start, the Bulldogs maintained that neither the club nor its staff had acted improperly and vowed to protect their reputation when Topine filed his action in the Supreme Court.

The decision is now removed from the courts.