# 2016 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks season

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 strengthed 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 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 563 | 302 | +261 | 42 |
| 2 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 688 | 456 | +232 | 39 |
| 3 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (P) | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 580 | 404 | +176 | 39 |
| 4 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 584 | 355 | +229 | 34 |
| 5 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 554 | 434 | +120 | 34 |
| 6 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 563 | 463 | +100 | 32 |
| 7 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 506 | 448 | +58 | 32 |
| 8 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 508 | 497 | +11 | 27 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 499 | 607 | −108 | 26 |
| 10 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 513 | 601 | −88 | 24 |
| 11 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 341 | 538 | −197 | 24 |
| 12 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 473 | 549 | −76 | 22 |
| 13 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 454 | 563 | −109 | 20 |
| 14 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 298 | 324 | −26 | 18$^1$ |
| 15 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 443 | 576 | −133 | 16 |
| 16 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 2 | 305 | 800 | −495 | 7 |
$^1$ Parramatta were deducted 12 competition points and their for/against tally accumulated between rounds 1-9 for gross long-term salary cap breaches.

## 2016 Statistics
### Top 5 Point Scorers

| Points | Player | Tries | Goals | Field Goals |
| 219 | James Maloney | 7 | 94 | 3 |
| 80 | Valentine Holmes | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| 64 | Ben Barba | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 56 | Sosaia Feki | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Chad Townsend | 8 | 6 | 1 |

### Top 5 Try Scorers

| Tries | Player |
| 19 | Valentine Holmes |
| 16 | Ben Barba |
| 14 | Sosaia Feki |
| 8 | Chad Townsend |
| 7 | Luke Lewis |

### Top 5 Try Assisters

| Assists | Player |
| 18 | Ben Barba |
| 13 | Chad Townsend |
| 13 | Michael Ennis |
| 10 | Gerard Beale |
| 9 | James Maloney |

### Top 5 Tacklers

| Tackles | Player |
| 947 | Michael Ennis |
| 747 | Andrew Fifita |
| 673 | Luke Lewis |
| 663 | Wade Graham |
| 640 | Jayson Bukuya |

### Top 5 Running Metres

| Metres | Player |
| 4,263 | Andrew Fifita |
| 3,509 | Paul Gallen |
| 3,391 | Valentine Holmes |
| 3,219 | Wade Graham |
| 2,904 | Jack Bird |