Dugan keen for new contract after best pre-season in years

A pre-season plan to manage his battered body through training has convinced former Kangaroos and Blues star Josh Dugan to open talks with Cronulla about a contract extension.

Dugan, who was contemplating retirement just 12 months ago, met with new Sharks high-performance manager Nathan Pickworth in December to devise a plan for him to get through training and he is feeling fitter than he has for several years.

“I have done four of the five sessions every week and got through everything I have needed to do,” Dugan said ahead of Sunday night’s derby against St George Illawarra at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium. “I have only been missing speed and agility, and my body is getting too old to be quick.

“I have got the work in, got the kilometres in the legs, was lifting heavy in the gym and getting strong, and got my body composition right down to where I need to be to play and be comfortable and fit and healthy.”

The 30-year-old centre is set to feature on a strong left edge for the Sharks, outside second-rower Wade Graham and five-eighth Matt Moylan, and inside winger Ronaldo Mulitalo, who scored 12 tries in 16 games last season.

Dugan also played 16 matches in 2020 after missing the opening two rounds with a chronic knee injury that sparked fears he may not play again, but he is now feeling fresh and keen to continue beyond this season.

“I’m 31 this year and I have spoken with my manager and we have just started trying to get the ball rolling here so hopefully I can stay for another year or two and then go from there,” Dugan said.

“If I can get through the pre-seasons, which are getting tougher, and get through the years feeling decent I am keen to keep going.”

It was the first pre-season Dugan has completed since 2015 due to either representative matches for Australia or surgery and he said the reduced workload had enabled him to complete most sessions.

However, Dugan suffered a scare during a training mishap when he was cleaned up by Graham, the Sharks captain, and had to be taken to hospital in a neck brace.

“I went to make a tackle in our scrimmage session and copped a bit of friendly fire,” he said. “I got cleaned up by Wade and just lost all feeling in my left arm for about a minute. I just had some numbness and tingling and stuff like that.

“Wade said he actually felt the contact and the impact of it so he knew straight away. Picko, our trainer, took every precaution. He was actually at the Dragons when I had neck surgery [in 2015] so he knew I had a few prior things going on there.

“I was a little bit worried at the start when I couldn’t move my fingers and that but I could still move my legs and I was squirming in pain a bit. Once I knew that I could still move it put my mind at ease.”

Dugan returned to full contact training a week later and is now preparing for the opening round of the 2021 season against the Dragons.

Former Canterbury prop Aidan Tolman is the only new face in the Sharks side to play St George Illawarra on Sunday night, with Tongan star Andrew Fifita named in the No.20 jersey after suffering a calf injury at training.

“I think this is my 14th pre-season and they don’t get any easier,” Dugan said. “Once you get to a certain stage of your career I think you have to be able to be managed to continue to put out on the field and that is what I feel like I have been doing.”

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