Group of players that's gross? On the contrary (5)
I believe the answer is:
nonet
'group of players' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'gross? on the contrary' is the wordplay.
'gross?' becomes 'ten' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'the contrary' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'ten'+'on'='tenon'
'tenon' back-to-front is 'NONET'.
'that's' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for nonet that I've seen before include "Composition for nine instruments" , "Piece for nine payers" , "Band's" , "Band of nine?" , "Work for nine players" .)