MELBOURNE pivot Ben Hampton is on North Queensland’s radar as the Cowboys continue their search for Johnathan Thurston’s long-term halves partner.

Hampton has interest from four clubs, with Canberra among the frontline contenders to snare the 22-year-old, who is off-contract at season’s end.

Speculation suggested Hampton had already signed with Cronulla, but his manager Jim Banaghan insists the Storm rookie remains a free agent.

That has opened the door for the Cowboys. The club has struggled to find a consistent foil for Thurston, with Ray Thompson, Robert Lui and Michael Morgan having varying degrees of success alongside the Maroons star.

The Cowboys have yet to table a formal offer but have discussed the prospect of signing Hampton. Aiding their chances, Hampton has links to northern Queensland, moving to Mareeba from the NSW town of Temora as a 12-year-old.

“I am speaking to four clubs at the moment,” Banaghan said.

“Ben hadn’t even spoken to the Sharks let alone signed with them. Someone put it up on social media, it took off everywhere and everyone presumed he’d signed with Cronulla.

“Souths pursued him some years ago but he decided to have two more years at Melbourne because he believed he needed to work on some aspects of his game and he did that.

“Now it’s time to look at what options are best for his future.”

Hampton has played 24 games for Storm since his NRL debut last year and is rated a future Origin player, captaining the Queensland under-20s in 2012.

At 81kg, Hampton is one of the NRL’s smaller men but has impressed with his footwork, acceleration and ability to bust the line.

The interest in Hampton will only amplify pressure on Cowboys playmaker Lui, who remains off-contract and has been linked with Cronulla.

“Melbourne are still in the picture,” Banaghan said.

“He is a terrific young fella with a terrific future as they all see it.

“A few clubs see him as a six and a few others see him as a fullback.

“He’s viewed as a long-term first-grader, the advantage for him is that he’s been in probably the best system in the country at the Melbourne Storm.

“He was Melbourne’s under-20s captain and has played for Queensland at junior level so he has an impressive CV.”