The 2016 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks season is the 50th in the club's history. Coached by Shane Flanagan and captained by Paul Gallen, they competed in the NRL's 2016 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season 3rd (out of 16) to make the finals.
In the first week on the finals, they took on the Canberra Raiders, who at that stage were on a 10-game winning streak, at GIO Stadium. A day before the game, Sharks captain, Paul Gallen did not take the trip and was ruled out with a back injury. 7 minutes into the game, stand-in captain Wade Graham was taken off the field and would not return due to a concussion. Despite playing with one less player (16) for more than 70 minutes, the Sharks managed to earn a week off and advance to the preliminary finals with a 16-14 win, one of the Sharks' more memorable wins in their history.
In the preliminary final, they took on the North Queensland Cowboys, who managed to narrowing beat the Brisbane Broncos in a 90-minute thriller the week before, at Allianz Stadium. Paul Gallen and Wade Graham returned from their respective injuries to line up in a near fully strengthened Cronulla side. With James Maloney and Chad Townsend leading the way, the Sharks defeated the Cowboys 32-20 to progress into the 2016 NRL Grand Final, their first grand final appearance since the 1997 Super League Season. It was only the fourth time they had appeared in a grand final in their history.
Playing in front of 83,625 fans, the Cronulla Sharks broke their 49 year drought without a premiership, with a 14-12 win over the minor premiers, the Melbourne Storm. It sent Michael Ennis out a winner in his final game in the NRL. The Clive Churchill Medal Winner was Luke Lewis.
Results
Round 1 - North Queensland Cowboys vs Cronulla Sharks (20-14) Tries: Chad Townsend, Jack Bird
Round 2 - Cronulla Sharks vs St George Illawarra Dragons (30-2) Tries: Ben Barba, Valentine Holmes, Chad Townsend, Jayson Bukuya, Ricky Leutele
Round 3 - Manly Sea Eagles vs Cronulla Sharks (22-12) Tries: Luke Lewis, Valentine Holmes
Round 4 - Cronulla Sharks vs Melbourne Storm (14-6) Tries: Ben Barba, Chad Townsend
Round 5 - Wests Tigers vs Cronulla Sharks (26-34) Tries: Luke Lewis, James Maloney, Sosaia Feki, Paul Gallen, Ben Barba
Round 6 - Cronulla Sharks vs Gold Coast Titans (25-20) Tries: Ben Barba, Sosaia Feki, Matt Prior, Andrew Fifita, Valentine Holmes
Field Goal: Chad Townsend
Round 7 - Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks (16-40) Tries: Ben Barba (2), Jack Bird, Jayson Bukuya, Valentine Holmes, Matt Prior, James Maloney
Round 8 - Cronulla Sharks vs Penrith Panthers (20-18) Tries: Michael Ennis, James Maloney, Valentine Holmes
Round 9 - Cronulla Sharks vs Brisbane Broncos (30-28) Tries: Sosaia Feki (2), Paul Gallen, James Maloney, Chad Townsend
Round 10 - Newcastle Knights vs Cronulla Sharks (0-62) Tries: Valentine Holmes (4), Sosaia Feki (3), Luke Lewis (2), Ben Barba, Wade Graham
Round 11 - Cronulla Sharks vs Manly Sea Eagles (20-12) Tries: Sosaia Feki, Valentine Holmes, Ben Barba
Round 13 - Canterbury Bulldogs vs Cronulla Sharks (18-20) Tries: Chad Townsend, Valentine Holmes, Ben Barba, Ricky Leutele
Round 14 - Cronulla Sharks vs North Queensland Cowboys (13-10) Tries: Valentine Holmes
Field Goal: James Maloney
Round 16 - Cronulla Sharks vs New Zealand Warriors (19-18) Tries: Michael Ennis, Ricky Leutele, Jayson Bukuya
Field Goal: James Maloney
Round 17 - Cronulla Sharks vs Parramatta Eels (34-24) Sosaia Feki (2), Ricky Leutele (2), Gerard Beale (2)
Round 18 - Penrith Panthers vs Cronulla Sharks (10-26) Tries: Ben Barba (2), Mitch Brown, Joseph Paulo, Luke Lewis
Round 19 - Sydney Roosters vs Cronulla Sharks (20-32) Tries: Sosaia Feki (2), Valentine Holmes, Jack Bird, Luke Lewis, Chad Townsend
Round 20 - Cronulla Sharks vs Newcastle Knights (36-4) Tries: Jack Bird (2), Ben Barba (2), Valentine Holmes (2), Sosaia Feki, Gerard Beale
Round 21 - Gold Coast Titans vs Cronulla Sharks (18-18) Tries: Valentine Holmes, Jack Bird, Andrew Fifita
Round 22 - Cronulla Sharks vs Canberra Raiders (14-30) Tries: James Maloney, Paul Gallen
Round 23 - St George Illawarra Dragons vs Cronulla Sharks (32-18) Tries: Valentine Holmes, Ben Barba, Ricky Leutele
Round 24 - South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Cronulla Sharks (12-6) Tries: Wade Graham
Round 25 - Cronulla Sharks vs Sydney Roosters (37-12) Tries: Matt Prior, Ben Barba, Gerard Beale, Paul Gallen, Jayson Bukuya, Valentine Holmes
Field Goal: James Maloney
Round 26 - Melbourne Storm vs Cronulla Sharks (26-6) Tries: Gerard Beale
Qualifying Finals - Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks (14-16) Tries: Matt Prior, Valentine Holmes
Preliminary Finals - Cronulla Sharks vs North Queensland Cowboys (32-20) Tries: James Maloney (2), Sosaia Feki, Chad Townsend, Luke Lewis
2016 NRL Grand Final - Melbourne Storm vs Cronulla Sharks (12-14) Tries: Ben Barba, Andrew Fifita
Clive Churchill Medal Winner: Luke Lewis
Ladder
2016 Statistics Top 5 Point Scorers PointsPlayerTriesGoalsField Goals219 James Maloney794380 Valentine Holmes192064 Ben Barba160056 Sosaia Feki140045 Chad Townsend861 Top 5 Try Scorers TriesPlayer19 Valentine Holmes16 Ben Barba14 Sosaia Feki8 Chad Townsend7 Luke Lewis Top 5 Try Assisters AssistsPlayer18 Ben Barba13 Chad Townsend13 Michael Ennis10 Gerard Beale9 James Maloney Top 5 Tacklers TacklesPlayer947 Michael Ennis747 Andrew Fifita673 Luke Lewis663 Wade Graham640 Jayson Bukuya Top 5 Running Metres MetresPlayer4,263 Andrew Fifita3,509 Paul Gallen3,391 Valentine Holmes3,219 Wade Graham2,904 Jack Bird
References