Cronulla and the Gold Coast have both played down the latest rumour sweeping the NRL — that Sharks prop Andrew Fifita could be on his way to the Titans to trigger a domino-like effect of player moves ahead of the 2020 season.

The Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday night it had been mooted that the Sharks could be willing to offload Fifita in order to ease their salary cap concerns.

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Round 19

The Sharks have salary cap concerns — could Andrew Fifita be expendable? Source: Getty Images

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Cronulla has been operating under a tight cap since adding Matt Moylan and Shaun Johnson to its squad, and it’s believed to still be an issue despite the loss of Paul Gallen (retirement), Matt Prior (Super League) and Kyle Flanagan (Sydney Roosters) following last season.

If Fifita were to join the Titans, that could allow Jai Arrow to move to Souths a season early before his four-year, $3.2 million deal at the Bunnies kicks in.

In turn, the Rabbitohs could then release utility back Adam Doueihi to possibly join Wests Tigers after having signed Latrell Mitchell on Monday ostensibly to fill the fullback role.

And there’s rumours persisting that Josh Addo-Carr could end up at the Roosters, possibly even before his agreed 2021 exit from the Storm if they receive a similar player in return.

However, Sharks coach John Morris declared his team is “not pushing anyone out the door” and said it was, if anything, looking at adding to its middle-forward depth after losing Prior.

For his part, Gold Coast culture boss Mal Meninga denied the Titans were willing to let go of Arrow.

“But that’s a new one for me,” Meninga told The Telegraph of the Fifita rumour. “It’s a beauty but no, we are staying with Jai for 2020. There are no advancements at all to be honest with you.”

That could change if Gold Coast was to receive Tino Fa’asuamaleaui a season early after having signed the boom Storm forward on a bumper contract from 2021, but Melbourne is currently refusing to countenance releasing him from the final year of his contract.

One player who could be forced to cut short his stay at his current club is Doueihi. The young Rabbitohs gun is the player most likely to be affected by Mitchell’s recruitment.

Adam Doueihi could be facing the exit at Redfern. Source: AAP

As a Balmain junior, he has been linked with a switch to the Tigers, who are angling for the Bunnies to foot some of the $500,000 cost of his deal, something Souths aren’t keen on.

But it’s been reported that Souths coach Wayne Bennett has told Doueihi that it’s in his best interests to move on if he wants to cement a regular NRL starting position. It’s a bitter blow for the Lebanon international after he starred at fullback in the back half of the last campaign and had trained in the position during this pre-season before Mitchell landed at Redfern.

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