Ryan standing firm

TOUGH onballer Ryan Robertson faces the prospect of spending the season on the sidelines after walking out on Corio.

Robertson is locked in a clearance dispute, with the Devils and destination club North Shore unable to reach agreement.

Seagulls president Dale Purcell said Robertson was unlikely to play this year, steadfast in his stance on not returning to Corio.

“He’s contracted to Corio, so our hands are tied,” Purcell said.

“We’re leaving it to him and Corio. Corio want to keep him, but he doesn’t want to play there. There’s nothing we can do and we’re not getting too much involved with it all.”

In a strange twist, Wednesday Whispers can reveal that Robertson was released by North Shore to Corio while he was under contract.

But the Devils, under a new administration, refuse to budge.

“We released him to Corio while he was under contract a few years ago and we thought in good faith that he might come back, but they (Corio) said that there was none of us involved in that, so we didn’t go down that track,” Purcell said.

“I just left it at that and said to Ryan, ‘I’ll leave it to you and Corio to work something out’.

“We haven’t pushed it. We just put a clearance in and it got knocked back, and there’s not much more we can do.”

Purcell said he was almost resigned to the fact Robertson would not play with the Seagulls this season.

“They have got every right to keep him. He signed to play there,” he said.

“He just wants to come and play a better standard of footy, and I spoke to him on the weekend, and he’s pretty adamant he won’t go back there.

“So he could possibly have to stand out for a year, but he’s aware of that.

“He understands that if nothing comes of it, he can’t play footy.

“We’ve told him that there’s not much we can do to help. We can talk to Corio on his behalf, but we really haven’t forced it.”

Purcell acknowledged it would be hypocritical of North Shore to demand Corio clear Robertson, having held Matt James and Blake Miller to contracts last season.