| Year: | 2016 |
| League: | NRL |
| League Rank: | 3rd |
| Cup: | Challenge Cup |
| League Wins: | 17 |
| League Draws: | 1 |
| League Losses: | 6 |
| Points For: | 580 |
| Points Against: | 404 |
| Ceo Title: | CEO |
| Ceo: | Lyall Gorman |
| Coach: | Shane Flanagan |
| Assistant Coach: | Steve Price |
| Captain: | Paul Gallen |
| Captain2: | Wade Graham Michael Ennis |
| Stadium: | Shark Park |
| Avg Attendance: | 14,577 |
| Top Tries: | Valentine Holmes (19) |
| Top Goals: | James Maloney (94) |
| Top Points: | James Maloney (219) |
| Prev Season: | 2015 |
| Next Season: | 2017 |
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.
Tries: Chad Townsend, Jack Bird
Tries: Ben Barba, Valentine Holmes, Chad Townsend, Jayson Bukuya, Ricky Leutele
Tries: Luke Lewis, Valentine Holmes
Tries: Ben Barba, Chad Townsend
Tries: Luke Lewis, James Maloney, Sosaia Feki, Paul Gallen, Ben Barba
Tries: Ben Barba, Sosaia Feki, Matt Prior, Andrew Fifita, Valentine Holmes
Field Goal: Chad Townsend
Tries: Ben Barba (2), Jack Bird, Jayson Bukuya, Valentine Holmes, Matt Prior, James Maloney
Tries: Michael Ennis, James Maloney, Valentine Holmes
Tries: Sosaia Feki (2), Paul Gallen, James Maloney, Chad Townsend
Tries: Valentine Holmes (4), Sosaia Feki (3), Luke Lewis (2), Ben Barba, Wade Graham
Tries: Sosaia Feki, Valentine Holmes, Ben Barba
Tries: Chad Townsend, Valentine Holmes, Ben Barba, Ricky Leutele
Tries: Valentine Holmes
Field Goal: James Maloney
Tries: Michael Ennis, Ricky Leutele, Jayson Bukuya
Field Goal: James Maloney
Sosaia Feki (2), Ricky Leutele (2), Gerard Beale (2)
Tries: Ben Barba (2), Mitch Brown, Joseph Paulo, Luke Lewis
Tries: Sosaia Feki (2), Valentine Holmes, Jack Bird, Luke Lewis, Chad Townsend
Tries: Jack Bird (2), Ben Barba (2), Valentine Holmes (2), Sosaia Feki, Gerard Beale
Tries: Valentine Holmes, Jack Bird, Andrew Fifita
Tries: James Maloney, Paul Gallen
Tries: Valentine Holmes, Ben Barba, Ricky Leutele
Tries: Wade Graham
Tries: Matt Prior, Ben Barba, Gerard Beale, Paul Gallen, Jayson Bukuya, Valentine Holmes
Field Goal: James Maloney
Tries: Gerard Beale
Tries: Matt Prior, Valentine Holmes
Tries: James Maloney (2), Sosaia Feki, Chad Townsend, Luke Lewis
Tries: Ben Barba, Andrew Fifita
Clive Churchill Medal Winner: Luke Lewis
| width=50 | Points | width=200 | Player | width=30 | Tries | width=30 | Goals | width=30 | 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 |
| width=50 | Tries | width=200 | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Valentine Holmes | ||
| 16 | Ben Barba | ||
| 14 | Sosaia Feki | ||
| 8 | Chad Townsend | ||
| 7 | Luke Lewis | ||
| width=50 | Assists | width=200 | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Ben Barba | ||
| 13 | Chad Townsend | ||
| 13 | Michael Ennis | ||
| 10 | Gerard Beale | ||
| 9 | James Maloney |
| width=50 | Tackles | width=200 | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 947 | Michael Ennis | ||
| 747 | Andrew Fifita | ||
| 673 | Luke Lewis | ||
| 663 | Wade Graham | ||
| 640 | Jayson Bukuya |
| width=50 | Metres | width=200 | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4,263 | Andrew Fifita | ||
| 3,509 | Paul Gallen | ||
| 3,391 | Valentine Holmes | ||
| 3,219 | Wade Graham | ||
| 2,904 | Jack Bird | ||