A laugh over the dinner table with ex-teammate Greg Bird put the controversy over Ryan James’ bungled Welcome to Country grand final speech into perspective.

The Titans skipper’s mistake before the NRL decider was cited by sponsor TFH as a reason for their decision to prematurely end a contract with the club.

After the decision sparked widespread criticism, the Gold Coast-based construction and event hire company backtracked and reaffirmed their commitment to the Titans in 2020.

The Indigenous All-Stars representative said Bird’s reaction to the situation summed up his feelings on it.

“Birdy was over from overseas and he seen it all come out and started cracking up laughing at me which made it a lot easier,” James said.

“(I) took it as it was (as) I couldn’t do anything about it. The club handled it pretty well and they went through everything and got it all done in the end.”

While James says he wasn’t too bothered by the whole situation, it did have an impact on those around him.

“It was more just like my mum and my family that it hurt the most,” he said.

“Everyone’s gone through the correct procedures to say sorry and just go out and carry on with it like I do every other day, people say worse stuff about me every day and I don’t really care.”

Having sat out most of the 2019 season with a knee injury, James was just looking forward to putting the past few months behind him as he returns to training.

He undertook his first skills session with his teammates under new coach Justin Holbrook on Monday and, while contact work remains off limits until the new year, the 28-year-old couldn’t be happier to be back on the field.

“It got very boring last year … so I’m stoked just to be around everyone and be able to train with the team, not just on my own,” he said.