How about this: "I know the team was going somewhere, and I couldn’t be a part of it this year. I look forward to getting back next year and hopefully start where I left off."
and:
"For the record, Petterd has no plans to move back to his home state, and he's more than happy to be part of an emerging Demons outfit.
“It’s an exciting place to be," he said.
"It’s in the hands of my manager and the club now, so there’s not much I can really do. They will look after it, I’m sure.”
Oh, and while on the subject, according to the man himself, while his name is spelt "PettErd", it is correctly pronounced "PettArd". Hence the confusion that seems to abound.
Cheers!