There is a major showdown looming at the Cronulla Sharks in the next 24 hours over the playing future of $900,000-a-season outside back Josh Dugan.

One of Cronulla’s highest-paid players, Dugan’s efforts over the course of the summer have been less than impressive on the training field.

It’s become an open conversation at the Sharks about how the club tries to fix the problem.

A fortnight ago there were threats about the former Test and Origin star starting the year in reserve grade with Newtown – now the Sharks are even considering trying to reach some sort of settlement for Dugan to move on.

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Fox Sports has been told the Sharks have set up a meeting with Dugan’s agent Paul Sutton in the next 24 hours in a bid to try and resolve the issue.

Club powerbrokers have held numerous meetings over the course of the summer about how best to handle the situation.

Fox Sports has been told even some of Dugan’s closest allies in the Cronulla playing group have begun to lose faith in the ex-NSW and Australian star.

In response to this story, Dugan later issued a tweet from his account saying; “Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story”, followed by some emojis.

Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story 👀🤷🏻‍♂️😂 — Josh Dugan (@Josh_Dugan) February 5, 2020

Dugan was signed by the Sharks at the end of 2017 by previous coach Shane Flanagan on a four-year deal until the end of 2021.

Since switching from St George Illawarra, Dugan has endured a mixed two years playing 37 NRL games and scoring 17 tries.

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The latest Cronulla crisis meeting around Dugan is a sign of the club’s frustration with Dugan’s actions over the course of the last three months.

While the rest of the Sharks playing group are all on the same page about effort and commitment, there remain question marks around Dugan.

Fox Sports has been told there are some training sessions where Dugan has failed to front and then later produced doctor’s certificates. The rest of the playing group at Cronulla are all proud about supporting and representing the Sharks.