1996 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks season

The 1996 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks season was the 30th in the club's history. They competed in the ARL's 1996 Optus Cup premiership and came within one match of the grand final.

1996 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks season
ARL Rank	5th
1996 record	Wins: 16; draws: 2; losses: 6
Points scored	For: 441 (75 tries, 70 goals, 1 field goal); against: 320 (55 tries, 48 goals, 4 field goals)
Team information
Coach	John Lang
Captain	Andrew Ettingshausen Mitch Healey Les Davidson
Stadium	Shark Park
Avg. attendance	10,515
Top scorers
Tries	Ryan Metreson (47)
Goals	Mat Rogers (59)
Points	Mat Rogers (150)
← 1995 1997 →

Ladder

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Manly-Warringah	22	18	0	4	549	191	+358	36
2	Brisbane	21	17	0	4	607	263	+344	34
3	North Sydney	22	15	2	5	598	325	+273	32
4	Sydney City	22	15	1	6	521	321	+200	31
5	Cronulla-Sutherland	21	14	2	5	399	268	+131	30
6	Canberra	21	13	1	7	538	384	+154	27
7	St. George	21	12	1	8	443	360	+83	27
8	Western Suburbs	22	12	1	9	394	434	−40	25
9	Newcastle	21	10	1	10	416	388	+28	23
10	Canterbury	21	11	0	10	375	378	−3	22
11	Auckland	21	10	0	11	412	427	−15	22
12	Balmain	22	11	0	11	319	459	−140	22
13	Parramatta	21	9	1	11	404	415	−11	21
14	Illawarra	22	8	0	14	403	444	−41	16
15	Penrith	21	7	1	13	363	464	−101	15
16	Western Reds	21	6	1	14	313	420	−107	13
17	North Queensland	21	6	0	15	288	643	−355	12
18	Gold Coast	22	5	1	16	359	521	−162	11
19	South Sydney	22	5	1	16	314	634	−320	11
20	South Queensland	21	3	0	18	220	496	−276	8