Even after dishing out on Aaron Woods coach Shane Flanagan insists Cronulla’s salary cap can accommodate off-contract veterans Luke Lewis and Paul Gallen next season – should they play on.

Flanagan “stuck to his guns” on what he believed was a reasonable price to buy the prop from cap-squeezed Canterbury and was certain it would not leave the club at risk of its own issues next NRL season.

“That won’t make a difference for us. In the back of our mind one or both (of Lewis and Gallen) could retire, one or both could battle on next year,” Flanagan said on Wednesday.