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 | ||||
| Stadium | Shark Park | |||
| Avg. attendance | 10,515 | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Ryan Metreson (47) | |||
| Goals | Mat Rogers (59) | |||
| Points | Mat Rogers (150) | |||
| ||||
Ladder
edit| 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 |