Cronulla Sharks pledge, 'Let's do it for Shane Flanagan' The secret meeting between players and stood down coach Shane Flanagan at a restaurant in Cronulla yesterday. NRL Captain Paul Gallen says Cronulla will play for 'the five people that are no longer here' on Sunday. THE besieged Sharks' playing squad rushed from training yesterday to a secret lunch with banned coach Shane Flanagan and the four football staffers sacked in the wake of the NRL drug scandal. Moments after captain Paul Gallen declared the Sharks would field a full-strength team for today's home clash with the Titans and win for Flanagan, the players drove to a restaurant in South Cronulla, pledging their support to those caught up in the scandal. The players began arriving at Little Italy, a popular Italian restaurant overlooking South Cronulla beach, 10 minutes after their first training session under Sharks interim coach Peter Sharp. The former Hull FC and Northern Eagles coach also attended the surprise lunch, which was the ultimate show of solidarity. The players gathered as a group in the park behind the beach before filing into a private room on the second floor of the eatery to dine with Flanagan, and sacked staffers Darren Mooney (general manager), Konrad Schultz (physio), Mark Noakes (head trainer) and David Givney (doctor). After 90 minutes, they emerged and clearly had a strong resolve to make a statement against the Titans. The players also vowed to support Flanagan and to do everything in their power to have him reinstated as head coach. The lunch was far less explosive than the meeting held by the players on Friday after learning Flanagan had been stood down on a day of bloodshed in the Shire. Several senior players threatened to boycott today's match in response to the board's drastic action, demanding that the popular Flanagan be reinstated. Surprisingly, two of the players most upset by the dismissal of the football staff were new recruits Luke Lewis and Beau Ryan. The Sunday Telegraph can reveal front-rower Bryce Gibbs emerged as the unlikely peace broker, with the larrikin forward calling for level heads. It is understood Gibbs fronted the group and told them they could not forget about the fans and had to play for their members, sponsors and their club. The players agreed to take the field and will dedicate today's match to Flanagan, Mooney, Schultz, Noakes and Givney. After shaking off suggestions of revolt, the NRL squad assembled at Shark Park at 10am yesterday, with Sharp running his strongest 17 through the team's first session without Flanagan. With emergency players Jason Bukuya and Chad Townsend sent back to train with the NSW Cup side, the likes of Todd Carney and Gallen looked in surprisingly good spirits during the short and sharp hit-out. The team even launched into laughter and applause when trainer Craig Catterach hit the deck and pulled off a break-dance move. With several cameras and a posse of reporters looking on, Gallen fronted the media and confirmed the Sharks would field their top squad for today's match. "As a team, we are sticking together and we are playing," Gallen said. We are going to go out there and do our best for the five people who are no longer here and for ourselves. Gallen confirmed his support for Flanagan and the sacked members of the coaching staff. "Shane is a friend of mine," Gallen said. And I can speak to him whenever I want. What's going on, as I am sure you can understand, is more than hard on everyone. But, like I said, we are sticking together and we will be here tomorrow to play a game of football and we will do our best. We are looking forward to 80 minutes of concentrating on what we do best. Earlier, Flanagan spoke of his shock and disappointment at the sackings before publicly encouraging his players to take the field and beat the Gold Coast Titans.