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STEVE Turner has implored the warring Gold Coast Titans and Melbourne Storm to find a resolution, admitting their bitter and protracted fight for his services is sending him broke.
With the 2007 season kick-off just nine weeks away, Turner says he is sick of the dispute and "devastated'' at the prospect of being sidelined for at least 12 months.
The winger has resorted to training alone in a Melbourne gym as the Gold Coast and Storm attempt to thrash out an agreement that would allow Turner to remain with the 2006 grand finalists. The fiasco has now spanned 145 days.
Turner revealed he has not seen a cent from either party in the past two months, despite reports the Titans were paying the winger a salary, minus deductions for every training session he missed.
"Apparently I've been getting payments from the Gold Coast but I haven't got any payment from anyone. I'm living on what I've saved up,'' said Turner, who returned to Melbourne on Wednesday after holidaying on the Sunshine Coast.
"I've gone a couple of months without pay so I'm living off my savings, but I've spent a fair bit already and I can't live off my savings forever.
"It's been tough. To be honest, I'm sick of the whole thing but the fact is I've put myself in this situation. The hardest thing is the uncertainty. I still don't know where I stand and I just wish the clubs would come to some agreement that would allow me to stay where I am.''
The 22-year-old was a notable absentee when Melbourne players returned to Princes Park for training on Thursday.
Instead, Turner outlays up to $50 a week working out in solitude in a suburban gym, hopeful he will be cleared to play in the Storm's season opener against Wests Tigers on March 16.
"It's $10 a visit and I've been going five days a week, so it's getting expensive,'' he said.
"I don't mind training on my own but, ideally, it's not what I want. I miss the team environment and you feel like a bit of an outcast when you know the guys are back training and you're doing your own stuff in a private gym.
"At this stage, I'm assuming I'll play in the NRL this season. I don't even want to think about the legal side. I'm sure nobody, not the clubs or NRL, want to go down that path. I just want to play football again.''
At the height of the saga in October, it was suggested Turner wanted to remain in Melbourne due to personal issues relating to his partner Kate Novak.
But Turner said: "That's not an issue at all. Kate's happy to do what I want to do. She's handled it really well. There was never a hint of her keeping me here, she has said she'll support whatever decision I make.''
Storm chief executive Brian Waldron has held fresh talks with NRL boss David Gallop. But the NRL, which is refusing to register Turner's Melbourne contract, is unlikely to alter its stance.
Turner's agent, David Riolo, will meet Titans managing director Michael Searle tomorrow.
"The only way this can be resolved is by the clubs,'' NRL chief operating officer Graham Annesley said. "Our position is quite clear. While there is a dispute, we have no intention of registering his contract with the Storm
SOURCE: http://www.news.com.au/sundaytelegraph/story/0,22049,21020582-5006066,00.html
With the 2007 season kick-off just nine weeks away, Turner says he is sick of the dispute and "devastated'' at the prospect of being sidelined for at least 12 months.
The winger has resorted to training alone in a Melbourne gym as the Gold Coast and Storm attempt to thrash out an agreement that would allow Turner to remain with the 2006 grand finalists. The fiasco has now spanned 145 days.
Turner revealed he has not seen a cent from either party in the past two months, despite reports the Titans were paying the winger a salary, minus deductions for every training session he missed.
"Apparently I've been getting payments from the Gold Coast but I haven't got any payment from anyone. I'm living on what I've saved up,'' said Turner, who returned to Melbourne on Wednesday after holidaying on the Sunshine Coast.
"I've gone a couple of months without pay so I'm living off my savings, but I've spent a fair bit already and I can't live off my savings forever.
"It's been tough. To be honest, I'm sick of the whole thing but the fact is I've put myself in this situation. The hardest thing is the uncertainty. I still don't know where I stand and I just wish the clubs would come to some agreement that would allow me to stay where I am.''
The 22-year-old was a notable absentee when Melbourne players returned to Princes Park for training on Thursday.
Instead, Turner outlays up to $50 a week working out in solitude in a suburban gym, hopeful he will be cleared to play in the Storm's season opener against Wests Tigers on March 16.
"It's $10 a visit and I've been going five days a week, so it's getting expensive,'' he said.
"I don't mind training on my own but, ideally, it's not what I want. I miss the team environment and you feel like a bit of an outcast when you know the guys are back training and you're doing your own stuff in a private gym.
"At this stage, I'm assuming I'll play in the NRL this season. I don't even want to think about the legal side. I'm sure nobody, not the clubs or NRL, want to go down that path. I just want to play football again.''
At the height of the saga in October, it was suggested Turner wanted to remain in Melbourne due to personal issues relating to his partner Kate Novak.
But Turner said: "That's not an issue at all. Kate's happy to do what I want to do. She's handled it really well. There was never a hint of her keeping me here, she has said she'll support whatever decision I make.''
Storm chief executive Brian Waldron has held fresh talks with NRL boss David Gallop. But the NRL, which is refusing to register Turner's Melbourne contract, is unlikely to alter its stance.
Turner's agent, David Riolo, will meet Titans managing director Michael Searle tomorrow.
"The only way this can be resolved is by the clubs,'' NRL chief operating officer Graham Annesley said. "Our position is quite clear. While there is a dispute, we have no intention of registering his contract with the Storm
SOURCE: http://www.news.com.au/sundaytelegraph/story/0,22049,21020582-5006066,00.html
