| Year: | 1981 |
| League: | NSWRFL |
| League Rank: | 4th |
| Cup: | Challenge Cup |
| League Wins: | 13 |
| League Draws: | 1 |
| League Losses: | 9 |
| Points For: | 350 (64 tries, 79 goals) |
| Points Against: | 351 (70 tries, 68 goals, 5 field goals) |
| Ceo Title: | CEO |
| Coach: | Greg Pierce |
| Captain: | Steve Rogers |
| Stadium: | Endeavour Field |
| Avg Attendance: | 8,439 |
| Top Tries: | Steve Rogers (14) |
| Top Goals: | Steve Rogers (76) |
| Top Points: | Steve Rogers (194) |
| Prev Season: | 1980 |
| Next Season: | 1982 |
The 1981 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks season was the fifteenth in the club's history. They competed in the NSWRFL's 1981 Premiership as well as the 1981 Craven Mild Cup and 1981 Tooth Cup.
| width=20 abbr="Position×" | width=175 | Team | width=20 abbr="Played" | Pld | width=20 abbr="Won" | W | width=20 abbr="Drawn" | D | width=20 abbr="Lost" | L | width=20 abbr="Points for" | PF | width=20 abbr="Points against" | PA | width=20 abbr="Points difference" | PD | width=20 abbr="Points" | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern Suburbs | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 385 | 225 | +160 | 32 | ||||||||||
| 2 | Newtown | 22 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 326 | 268 | +58 | 30 | ||||||||||
| 3 | Parramatta | 22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 398 | 246 | +152 | 29 | ||||||||||
| 4 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 339 | 337 | +2 | 27 | ||||||||||
| 5 | Manly-Warringah | 22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 350 | 317 | +33 | 26 | ||||||||||
| 6 | Western Suburbs | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 311 | 352 | -41 | 23 | ||||||||||
| 7 | North Sydney | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 322 | 355 | -33 | 18 | ||||||||||
| 8 | St. George | 22 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 320 | 399 | -79 | 17 | ||||||||||
| 9 | South Sydney | 22 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 322 | 423 | -101 | 17 | ||||||||||
| 10 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 340 | 344 | -4 | 16 | ||||||||||
| 11 | Penrith | 22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 305 | 350 | -45 | 16 | ||||||||||
| 12 | Balmain | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 293 | 395 | -102 | 13 | ||||||||||