The only Aboriginal NRL head trainer has been caught in the centre of a law suit fired at Canterbury against alleged assaults at the club on one of its former players.

Jackson Topine, the Maori All Stars representative that Canterbury sacked at the end of the 2023 season after 16 NRL appearances in three seasons, claims he was subjected to an unfair punishment for being late to a Bulldogs' training session.

Euahlayi man Travis Touma that session instructed up to 35 Bulldogs first and reserve grade players in attendance to constantly take turns wrestling Topine to exhaustion.

The allegations suggests Touma ignored requests from Topine's teammates to ease up the intensity of the exercise over apparently a "marked deterioration in his capacity to defend himself and compete".

Topine's lawyers has commenced legal proceedings against the club. and not directly at Touma, in a landmark $4 million civil case.

The damages behind the compensation claim also targets the club over the allegations that Touma was illegally terminated.

Documents filed to the New South Wales Supreme Court claim that Topine this year has been incapable of playing the sport since the incident.

Canterbury allegedly informed Topine on October 18 last year that his agreed employment would expire on November 1.

The training session, on July 18 last year, has been described in Topine's statement of claim as a "deprivation of liberty" and an "unlawful corporal punishment" by his lawyers.

According to the claim, Topine made the error of reading the training schedule that started at 8:30am incorrectly.

The punishment of wrestling his Bulldogs teammates lasted more than 90 minutes on his arrival onto Belmore Sports Ground.

Touma allegedly told the players later not to congratulate or help Touma up at the end of a physically demanding session, the Kings Law Group claims.

"(The) feelings of humiliation, indignity, embarrassment and fear were exacerbated," the claim stated.

His lawyers also claimed Topine has suffered "psychiatric injury" and "physical and mental impairment" as a result of the actions of Touma.

"All professional sports teams should ensure they attend to their responsibilities with respect to their players, whether it's providing a safe workplace, or ensuring they are fairly remunerated or, significantly, receive required medical treatment when (it is) needed, especially if the injury occurs within the workplace," lawyer Abdullah Reslan on behalf of Topine, said separately in a statement.

"Termination should not be a solution."

Neither Topine nor Touma were available on Wednesday for comment.

The Bulldogs board of directors met later that night in a scheduled board meeting.

Club chairman Adam Driussi later issued a brief statement for the media.

"The board unanimously agreed that it would vigorously defend both the club and its employee, Travis Touma, against the claim lodged today by a former player," he said.

"The club will be making no further comments at this time."

The club's media team had also included issued a release in its defence of Touma's actions.

"There are a number of allegations that we categorically deny," the statement said.

The statement also added that the Bulldogs would not be commenting until after the case concludes because the club "takes mental health concerns very seriously, given the appropriate sensitivities that should be applied in matters concerning mental health".

Touma has previously been the fitness coach and head trainer at Sydney Roosters and briefly at South Sydney prior to employment with Canterbury in 2023.

While Roosters coach Trent Robinson could not comment about the alleged incident, he did speak about the character of Touma, who Robinson worked closely for most of the former head trainer's 11 years at the club that included three NRL premierships.

"Travis is a very experienced trainer and a really outstanding person, and his care factor is as high as I've seen in any staff member in any club I've been involved with," Robinson said a club press conference on Wednesday.

"I can't speak to the incident, but I know who Travis is and the quality of the person that he is, and the care that he has for his players."

Touma, a former rugby league player, who represented Lebanon from his mum's side of the family at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup, volunteered to train NSW Cup side, Newtown Jets, for free before entering the NRL ranks.