A forged signature on his Gold Coast Titans playing contract has left Dally M centre-of-the-year James Roberts a free agent to join a rival NRL club immediately.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal a senior Titans employee has resigned after he was found to have faked Roberts? signature on an amendment to his three-year contract.
Titans football manager Scott Clark left the club on Thursday afternoon after admitting to chief executive Graham Annesley what he had done.
Roberts? contract, which was registered with the NRL in July, is now null and void.
A number of clubs are certain to show interest and take advantage of the situation.
He is on around $300,000-a-year at the Titans and could earn more elsewhere according to the document obtained by The Daily Telegraph.
The amendment which carried the forged signature involved $50,000 in payment bonuses in regard to playing State of Origin.
Roberts only this week noticed it wasn?t his signature and immediately notified the club.
He is still training with the Titans while the club tries to sort through the issues.
Boxing champ, former NRL star and his cousin Anthony Mundine is now advising Roberts, who has cut ties with his manager.
?He?s my brother and I want to help him,? Mundine said. ?This has all happened through no fault of his own. He was shocked when he saw what had happened with the signature.
?James is a dynamic player who has really settled down in the last 18 months.
?He has now got a partner expecting a baby and he?s in a position where he needs to be paid what he is really worth.?Roberts feels a depth of loyalty to the Titans who threw him a career lifeline after he was dumped by both the Rabbitohs and Panthers for disciplinary reasons.
He has since turned his life around and settled down to start a family on the Gold Coast.
Titans CEO Graham Annesley declined to comment when contacted by The Daily Telegraph other than confirming a senior staff member had resigned.
It is an embarrassing situation for the NRL considering they now own the Titans.
Roberts is the NRL?s fastest player and scored 16 tries for the Titans this year.
He beat a crack field including Blake Ferguson, Justin Hodges, Josh Morris, Michael Jennings and Will Chambers to win the Dally M award as centre of the year.
Clark, who packed up his office and left on Thursday, did not return phone calls or text messages.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...ignature-forgery/story-fnp0lyn3-1227615821336
