meanwhile the players seem to be getting over the departure of ricky
Sad news didn't stop players celebrating
Kelly danced in his bright orange boots as his teammates clapped and cheered.
Adam Cuthbertson took his shirt off and waved it over his head and they cheered some more.
All huddled in the middle of Toyota Park full of laughter and hope, this is how the Sharks ended their first session under new coach Shane Flanagan after Ricky Stuart quit after four hard years.
"You're lucky Trent Barrett wasn't dancing," Flanagan said.
"He only knows one dance and it doesn't come with clothes."
Most were expecting a funeral at Shark Park yesterday.
Expecting the players to be down and out following another humiliating loss and the departure of their coach. But yesterday was about new beginnings.
"It is definitely sad to see him go," Sharks captain Trent Barrett said. "He has done so many things for this club. But Ricky has made the decision that he thinks is the best for him and the best for the club."
At 1.57pm, wearing a black jumper and jeans instead of a Sharks polo shirt and spray pants, Stuart walked into the Cronulla dressingroom and told his players he would no longer be their coach.
He spoke to them for 19 minutes, telling them he was proud to be their mate and why he had to leave.
"He was disappointed and relieved at the same time," Barrett said.
"He just wanted us to know that the decision was based on him. It wasn't about us and certainly wasn't about us letting him down.
"We knew that but he told us anyway."
The players did not know Stuart had quit until they woke up yesterday morning to screaming headlines and ringing phones.
"I know him well enough to know something was wrong but I didn't know he was ready to quit until my phone started ringing," Barrett said.
Several players tried to ring Stuart to see if it was true.
To see if he really had quit. But no one could get through.
"I didn't know until a mate called me," NSW Origin prop Kade Snowden said.
And that is why the Cronulla dressing room erupted to thunderous applause at 2.16pm when Stuart finished his final address.
"We just thanked him and said well done," Snowden said.
As Stuart finished his 10 minute and 47 second meeting with the press, Snowden stood behind a wall peering at all the cameras and microphones that had been at Shark Park since 7am. After a moment of hesitation he made his way out onto the field and the rest of the team followed. New coach, same job.
"They wouldn't care if Jack the Ripper was coaching them," Flanagan joked.
"As long as they are getting paid and playing football, they are happy."
And you can bet there will be more bright orange boots and silly dances if they begin Flanagan's career and see off Stuart's with a win.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...yers-celebrating/story-e6frexni-1225894809989
