THE Cowboys are ready to swoop on James Roberts as the speed demon confronts a personal tragedy that has stalled contract renegotiations with the Titans.

The Courier-Mail can reveal premiers North Queensland have expressed interest in throwing Roberts a lifeline if the NSW Origin hopeful cannot strike a new deal with the Gold Coast.

The Titans were scheduled to hold talks with Roberts on Monday to find common ground following the contract forgery farce that has placed his future at the club in jeopardy.

But the Coast’s focus has switched to Roberts’ mental wellbeing after the star centre was rocked by the shock death of one of his closest friends.

The tryscoring machine was offered counselling yesterday after returning from a Titans military camp in the Gold Coast hinterland to be greeted by the tragic news.

Roberts was uncontactable over the weekend during the camp at Canungra. He stepped off the team bus on Monday to be met by a Titans staffer, who informed Roberts his good mate had died unexpectedly at the age of 25.

The Titans wanted a resolution to the contract saga yesterday but have put talks on hold with his adviser, Jeremy Donovan, at the request of a grieving Roberts.

“James has had a personal issue he’s had to deal with, it’s nothing to do with his football,” Titans boss Graham Annesley said.

“We agreed we would put talks on hold and hopefully we can have dialogue soon.

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“At the moment, James’ welfare is our main concern. But there is a lot of goodwill to get this (contract) issue sorted and we’ll see what happens.”

Donovan has contacted lawyers and the Rugby League Players Association to explore whether Roberts’ $300,000-a-year contract, brokered in June, is officially null-and-void.

Roberts has indicated he wants to remain at the Titans, but Queensland rivals the Cowboys are one club prepared to pounce on the 22-year-old flyer.

Cowboys football operations chief Peter Parr said the club is keen to talk to Roberts if negotiations with the Titans collapse. The premiers have four threequarters — Kane Linnett, Matt Wright, Tautau Moga and Justin O’Neill — off-contract at the end of 2016.

media_camera Roberts has become a free agent following a contract bungle.

“If for some reason the Titans can’t sort through it, then we will have a look at him,” Parr said.

“Most people would want to see James stay at the Titans, but if he becomes available, I will talk to Greeny (Cowboys coach Paul Green) and look at our options.

“There’s no doubt James Roberts would look great in our backline. He’s exciting to watch, he’s a really talented player.”

Donovan said Roberts has been left shattered by the tragedy, compounding an emotional week for the NRL’s Centre of the Year.

“He’s physically and emotionally exhausted,” he said.

“I called Graham Annesley and said it’s not the best thing to speak yet because James is coming to terms with the death of one of his closest mates.

“I have contacted the RLPA to seek advice on whether his contract is null-and-void. We don’t want this to get messy ... hopefully we can get some answers soon.”