Greg Bird has taken a parting shot at former Gold Coast teammate James Roberts, saying the Dally M centre of the year used the forgery scandal as a convenient excuse to get out of his NRL contract.
Roberts knocked back a new contract from the Titans on Monday after the ugly scandal rocked the already beleaguered club, leaving them without a strike weapon for next year.
The Titans believed they had Roberts under lock and key however his contract was declared void after it was discovered former football manager Scott Clark admitted to forging Roberts's signature on the paperwork.
The saga allowed the club's star centre to fly the coop however Bird said Roberts had used it as a way to wiggle out of his deal.
"I'm pretty sure (the forgery drama) had nothing to do with Jimmy wanting to leave," Bird said at the Auckland Nines jersey launch in Sydney on Tuesday.
"If he wanted to leave, he would have got out whether he had those contract problems or not."
Asked if he thought it was a convenient excuse, Bird said: "Yeah, I pretty much do. It was used as a scapegoat really."
Roberts' departure leaves the Titans, who finished 14th and one win off last place in 2015, in a massive hole for next year.
Roberts has been touted as a future NSW State of Origin representative and Bird described him as one of the club's few shining lights.
According to Fox Sports Stats, of the Titans' 76 tries in season 2015, Roberts was directly involved in over a third of them. He crossed 16 times, set up another five and had a hand in another three.
Bird described Roberts' decision as disappointing after the Titans helped him get his career back on track after being sacked by South Sydney and Penrith for drunken incidents early in his career.
"We contributed to turning his career around, helping him out, pointing him in the right direction after getting him from being sacked from another club to where he is now after getting Dally M centre of the year," he said.
"The club's done a good job with him and best of luck to him."
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