The stand-off between St Kilda and the sacked Andrew Lovett is set to continue after nine hours of talks on Friday failed to find a settlement.
The matter is now likely to head to the AFL's Grievance Tribunal.
Lovett and the Saints began discussions at the AFL at 10am on Friday with the meeting finally concluding at 7pm with the parties still unable to reach a resolution as to how Lovett's contract situation should be resolved.
AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson said after the conclusion of the talks that either Lovett or the Saints now had the option of referring the matter to the AFL Grievance Tribunal in a bid to seek a resolution.
The Sainst sacked the former Essendon star before he had even played a game for his new club after he was charged with rape.
It is believed Lovett wants the Saints to pay the rest of his $1 million plus three year contract out, but St Kilda is refusing.
The issue is threatening to continue to hang over the Saints' build-up to the 2010 season with the latest discussions coming on the eve of Saturday night's NAB Cup grand final against the Western Bulldogs.
Chief executive Michael Nettlefold said St Kilda simply would not agree to Lovett's demands.
"We entered today’s proceedings with an open mind and in the interests of all at St Kilda Football Club we tried our best to obtain a satisfactory resolution," he said after the nine-hour talks.
"However the claim made by Andrew Lovett’s representatives was not something the club could reasonably agree to."
Lovett's lawyer - former AFL field umpire Derek Humphrey-Smith - has not ruled out taking court action to force the Saints to pay the rest of Lovett's contract.
However the Saints believe they are on solid legal ground in refusing to pay out the rest of Lovett's contract.
"As our members, sponsors and other stakeholders would expect, we have obtained legal advice from independent expert employment law barristers who advised us that the club was legally entitled to terminate Andrew Lovett’s employment contract," Nettlefold said.
Nettlefold said the Saints continued paying Lovett from the time he was first accused of rape on Christmas Eve last year until he was formally charged on February 15 this year.
"The club continued providing Andrew with full payment while considering its position and awaiting the outcome of the Victoria Police investigation," Nettlefold.
"During this period the club also provided Andrew with a comprehensive training program and resources (but) Andrew was then subsequently charged with rape by Victoria Police on February 15, 2010."
Nettlefold said under the AFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement with the AFL Players' Association a club was allowed to sack a player if it deemed the player had brought the club into disrepute.
"Further the club formed the view that Andrew had also engaged in misconduct which is a ground for termination under his contract of employment," Nettlefold said.
"The main reasons the club believes that its decision to terminate Lovett’s employment on these grounds is justified is because of his behaviour on December 23/24, 2009 and his failure to obey specific directions to contact club officials in this type of situation.
Nettlefold said the Saints remained open to ongoing discussions with a view to reaching a settlement.
However with no date for the AFL Grievance Tribunal hearing announced, the issue looks set to be a continuing distraction for last year's beaten grand finalists with the home and away season set to start in just under a fortnight.