Group of players spreads spiteful gossip about extras (4,6)
I believe the answer is:
side dishes
'spiteful gossip about extras' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't judge whether it can be defined by this definition.
'group of players spreads' is the wordplay.
'group of players' becomes 'side' (I've seen this before).
'spreads' becomes 'dishes' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'side'+'dishes'='SIDE-DISHES'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for side dishes that I've seen before include "Accompaniments to main course" , "Extra portions" .)