The Bulls have won their battle to sack former Kiwi winger Tame Tupou.

A RFL tribunal has finally ruled Bradford were within their power to terminate his contract and he has now left Odsal.

Tupou has not played since undergoing reconstructive knee surgery last June and the Bulls had been seeking to release him from the final 18 months of his deal.

The case revolved around the interpretation of a clause in the standard RFL professional players contract which states that if a player is unable to play or train for 26 weeks in any 12-month rolling period, the club may tear it up.

The hearing was adjourned for a week last month to give the panel the opportunity to determine the meaning of the word 'train'. Tupou, who was represented by Leeds-based sports lawyer Richard Cramer, argued that he is able to train and is effectively not in breach of his contract.

But Bradford countered that the extent of his injuries mean an effective return is not imminent.

It has taken the panel THREE weeks to reach a conclusion but it was announced this evening that they uphold the club's decision.

However, it ruled the Super League club ought to have invoked the RFL's disciplinary procedure and awarded Tupou the equivalent of two weeks' salary in compensation.

The former Brisbane Bronco made just nine appearances due to knee and rib injuries last season and is still not considered fit to resume playing.

Bulls will now work with the player's agent to help him find another club elsewhere.

Tupou, 26, leaves Bradford less than two years after joining them from Brisbane where he had fallen out of favour with Wayne Bennett.

Brought in as a replacement for Lesley Vainikolo, he initially looked capable of filling the Volcano’s boots after scoring ten tries in his opening 12 games.

But the giant wideman injured his knee while on international duty later that year, with Bradford claiming they were not told the extent of his injury.

Tupou started the 2008 campaign but was soon sidelined by injury again – both rib and knee – and eventually required a knee reconstruction.

He departs with a record of 13 tries in 21 games but no doubt ruing missing the chance to really make his mark in Super League.

Meanwhile, with Tupou now off the salary cap, it is likely Bulls boss Steve McNamara will look to quickly bolster his struggling squad.